A Truly Great Cinematic Marvel!

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2004)

Yea, after reading some of the recent comments, it's obvious that not everyone likes or gives this movie more than a passing glance then blows it off as rubbish or silly or nonsense. But then again I wouldn't want to watch what they consider a great cinematic masterpiece, which in my opinion, is exactly what this movie is! From the great scenery and costumes to the uplifting and inventive use of modern music in a bygone era of Paris circa 1900, this movie had it all.
Sure, it took a little patience in the beginning because it went against what we are used to in movies. At first you are bombarded with music, dancing and sometimes bombastic dialouge but once it got to the actual story of a love that could not be, it was as good as any romance novel could hope for. It had Shakespearean elements of a tragic love story much in the style of Romeo and Juliet. Does Satine run off with the writer or marry the Duke(whom she despises) just to save the theatre and all it's actors who really are just a big group of misfits but family in every sense of the word. In those days, actors were not celebrities, like they are today, they were more like circus carneys or gypsies. Moulin Rouge, with all the twists and turns and pulling at the emotions of both lead actors, succeeds as the audience is drawn into their love story and feel every emotion as though it were their own! You fall in love with the leads and your heart aches for their doomed love. In the end, you feel the loss as deeply as anything you would feel in real life. I left the theatre in tears and i don't usually cry about anything! I say, watch it again and tell me if it isn't a powerful movie that ranks up thier with the best of what Hollywood has produced in the past 30 years or more! I could see Audrey Hepburn in the lead had this movie been shot in the 50's or early 60's and Marlon Brando or James Dean as the writer who falls madly in love with Satine. If you didn't like the movie, well I say your heart is hard and jaded and you are just plain boring!
2 Thumbs Waaaaaaaaaaaay UP! I rank it as one of my top 5 favorites of all time and could watch Moulin Rouge every year for the rest of my life and love it like the first time!