The musical has been reborn like a phoenix from the ashes. And it has come back with a vengeance. Baz Luhrmann, the man who brought about the MTV-induced adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, has used his flaring style (the saving grace of the aforementioned film) to bring us Moulin Rouge, a fantastical, somnambulant love story musical.
It is turn of the century Paris and the young English poet Christian, played impressively by Ewan McGregor, arrives in search of his place in the artistic bohemian world. While in the middle of a bit of writers block, a couple of performers fall through his ceiling, and soon Christian finds himself singing �The Hills are Alive,� seeing green fairies, and entering the Moulin Rouge. This ravishing spectacle of a nightclub is the place where colors dance like its tuxedo-clad gents in their chorus of �Smells Like Teen Spirit,� and where the music captures your heart like it�s golden-hearted courtesan Satine � Nicole Kidman in her star-making performance.
It is but a short matter of time, and a misunderstanding away that Christian makes Elton John�s �Your Song� his own and gets Satine to fall in love with him. From this point on, the story takes a Shakespeare in Love turn as Christian writes his play adapted on his secret affair with Satine. The affair must be very discreet for Satine is promised to the Duke, the snide backer who has made a deal to ensure Satine is his or else he has the rights to the Moulin Rouge itself.
Many have dismissed this story, half comedic-half tragic, as melodramatic and unimpressive. To them I say, �take a taste of absinthe and enjoy the show.� I find the love story to be but slightly less beautiful and touching as its scenery. After all, it was only a couple of years ago that a similar scenario was played off in the overrated Shakespeare in Love, which many critics seemed to like quite a bit and I found rather Hollywood. And the classic West Side Story itself was only Romeo & Juliet revamped. The main thing to keep in mind is, this is a musical, and a musical is meant to captivate you with imaginative visuals and heartfelt tunes.
This brings me to the music. Some may find it a travesty to the musical, or film in general, to take songs from the past forty years and place them in 1899 Paris. However, to see how theses songs are used here should shun any skeptic. Most of the songs have either been altered where needed to suit the time period or used as dialogue pieces between the characters. I found this to be amazing, for this is what a musical is supposed to do, it is supposed to allow its characters to communicate through song, not just tell the story with them. And this musical does it well.
This movie will bring its leads to �star� status (and possibly garner them Oscar nominations) and its song and dance numbers will live in its audiences� memories forever (the �El Tango de Roxanne� and �Your Song� sequences still stick in my mind). Still, the most impressive attribute to this movie is the visual spectacular the Baz Luhrmann brings to the screen. At all times, every inch of the screen is covered with something to catch our attention. Whether it is a splash of color, a gorgeous piece of architecture, or a singing moon, the movie always manages to cover itself and never seems at all empty.
Moulin Rouge is a magical film in so many ways. It will no doubt go down in film history as the movie that revived the musical genre. Its stars are impressive and have voices so beautiful they could be modern pop stars (the good ones not one-hit-wonders). The visionary, experimental landscape will cause you to pinch yourself to ensure you aren�t dreaming. The soundtrack is among the best albums of the year. But above all, what grabbed me most about this movie is, unlike so many films in the past, it became an exception to the rule and lived up to the hype surrounding it. Any film to accomplish this much, and during the summer spectacle season of movies, will always manage to find a place among the best of the year on my list. Pure musical fantasia!
