"Les Mis" Trailer to Debut with...

..."Snow White and the Hunstman"! According to a recent update of the marketing website Indepedent Marketing Edge, it is being included with prints of the film and will play in cinemas starting June 1st. Get excited, folks!

My next translation will be up this weekend, and it will be Fantine's run-in with Javert.

"La nuit" post updated!

The post about "La nuit", the song that would become "Lovely Ladies," has been updated to include the original version of the song!

Check the post here, and leave me some comments! Do you like the original version? What's the most strikingly different?

Fantine & Bamatabois: A Very French Fight

Now, we're gonna take a look at another previously untranslated section of the show: when Fantine meets the customer Bamatabois.

BAMATABOIS

Que tu es laide How ugly are you

Mais moi, j’aime la nouveauté But I love new things

Approche un peu Come a bit closer

J’aime bien voir avant d’acheter I like to see before buying

T’auras cinq francs You'll have 5 francs

Tu ne vaux pas plus que ça You're not worth any more than that.

FANTINE :

Je ne veux pas. I do not want.

Non, non, monsieur, laissez-moi ! No, non, sir, leave me alone!

BAMATABOIS :

C’est bien payé It's already payed

Pour qui te prends-tu ? Who do you think you are

FANTINE :

Je ne veux pas I don't want to!

BAMATABOIS :

Non, mais des fois No, but sometimes

Petite traînée You little slut

A quoi joues-tu ? What game are you playing?

As-tu vu ta sale gueule récemment dans une glace ? Have you seen your dirty face recently in a mirror?

Et cet arbre de Noël que tu peints sur ta bouche ? And that Christmas tree you paint on your face?

Avec moi, ce ne sont pas les catins, qui décident Sluts don't decide with me

Chacun reste à sa place Each stays in their place

Quand on fait ton métier When your job is

Pour une pièce, on se couche ! Going to bed for a coin!

FANTINE :

Je te tuerai, salopard, essaye-le pour voir ! I'll kill you, you bastard, try it and see!

Même une putain qui n’a plus aucun droit Even a whore who's got no more rights

Peut refuser un rat Can refuse a rat

BAMATABOIS :

Tu payeras pour ton impudence You'll pay for your impudence

Tu vas savoir ce qui en coûte You're gonna see what that costs

Pour ton agresse d’un honnête homme For your attack on an honest man

Tu vas payer cher cet affront You'll pay dearly for this insult

Tu vas coucher avec les rats de la prison ! You'll sleep with the rats in prison!

FANTINE :

Pitié, ne me dénoncez pas Mercy, please don't report me

Je ferai tout c’que vous voudrez I'll do whatever you will want

BAMATABOIS :

Tu t’expliqueras à la police You'll explain yourself to the police!

*The 2008 Québec version of the show changes that final line to...

BAMATABOIS :

Tu t’expliqueras aux policiers !

...to preserve the rhyme. No idea why no one hadn't thought of that before.*

Now, you must be wondering why I said this fight was "very French." The biggest thing I mean by that is the use of "tu" versus "vous." Now, if you don't know I mean by that, let me explain: in French, there are two ways to say "you": "tu", which you say to people you're being informal with, and "vous," which you use formally or with those you don't know. It can be very rude to use "tu" with someone you don't know, as it comes off as disrespectful. Now, you'll notice here, Bamatabois begins by calling Fantine "tu"--"Que tu es laide !" (which is a terrible way to start a conversation). Fantine, trying to be polite, calls him both "monsieur" and uses "vous" when she asks to be left alone ("Laissez-moi !") My favorite part, though, is when she gets super fierce after he attacks her. Fantine truly shows that she can slug with the best of them with her phase, "Je te tuerai, salopard, essaye-le pour voir !" She is so fed up that she not only calls him a bastard but she gets into it and drops to the "tu" form. However, as soon as he threatens to turn her in, she switches to "vous" to try to prove her respect to the...er...gentleman. It doesn't work.

What are your thoughts? Do you like the French version better than the English version? Does the vous/tu switch give the song more depth? Let me know in the comments below!

"Fantine's Arrest" is next on the plate, and will be coming up in the next week!

SHAMELESS SELF PLUG

SO LISTEN.

When I'm not listening to Les Mis on repeat, I am a sketch comedian. My group, called Pineapple-Shaped Lamps, is raising money for a summer comedy tour of the eastern US. Here's our picture:

This is us. Enjoy our faces.

And here is how you can donate to our cause:

http://www.indiegogo.com/pineappleshapedlamps

This is our first tour and we want to bring our comedy outside of our little town of Wilmington, NC. But to do so, we need dat cash, yo. If any of you could donate even a little bit, I would appreciate it so much!

You can find all of our shows on our YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/pineappleshapedlamps

Also, I promise to get a new Les Mis translation posted later this week.

Thanks guys!

A Preview of "Fantine & Bamatabois"

Next, we're gonna take a look at another previously untranslated section of the show: when Fantine meets the customer Bamatabois. I'm going to translate and compare how the show changes over the course of twenty years. I'll begin with the 1991 Paris cast and end up at the most recent French cast, a version that ran in Québec from 2008-2009. Here's a sneak peek:

"How ugly you are!

But I love trying new things.

Come closer

I like to see before I buy

You'l have 5 Francs

You're not worth more than that..."

Check back later this week for the rest!