Spectacular! Spectacular!

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2001)

Baz tops himself again. The film is sure to be reviled since it's so vital, cinematic, and groundbreaking. It will take some critics and some audience members years to catch up. Baz Luhrmann and his fearlessly committed team -particular honors go to the costumes, production design, cinematography- have fashioned a film that's unlike any other (high praise!) and that deserves all the scattered raves it will also be reaping. And then of course there's the music. It's a dazzling and sometimes left field approach to a song score and it works so well... Total highlights? Jim Broadbent's hilarious "Like A Virgin", the "Come What May" Bollywood finale, and "the Tango Roxanne."
I hope that moviegoers will open up their minds and hearts to this. We desperately need films that challenge us visually and aurally. We need films that arrive in messy confusing 'I-don't-know-quite-what-to-make-of-this' glory. The same old same old will kill the art form. I saw this movie last night and I'm ready to go again this morning.
To quote the plug/plea of the sales pitch within the film "SPECTACULAR! SPECTACULAR!"