A strange, stylish, comedy-turned-romantic-tragedy. It's hard to put it into one genre, but as funny as it is sad, it's simply a must see.

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2007)

When I first started Moulin Rouge! I felt like I was on a trip, in fact, I found it so incredibly off I didn't watch it. I couldn't watch it. Too strange. But then a friend of mine convinced me to give it another try, which I did, and I don't regret it. Moulin Rouge! is a hard movie to place, it's hysterically off kilter, it's depressingly sad and emotional, it's musically sensational, and it's definitely different. It tells the story of Christian (Ewan McGregor) a young poet and writer who has come to Paris in search of a job, against his fathers wishes, who warns him that he'll end up wasting his time with a Cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge, and that there is no such thing as 'freedom, beauty, truth, and above all things, Love.' Which is something that Christian believes in more than anything else. So then,an unconscious Argentinian falls through his roof, along with an artist named Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) (A real person, so I've heard) and herd of other rather eccentric people, trying to find a good song for their next production (Christian comes up with 'The Hills are Alive') and is then whisked away to the Moulin Rouge, an enormous night club owned by eccentric Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), the main attraction being his 'Diamond Dogs'. One of his star women, Satine(Nicole Kidman), wows the stage, and is to have a private meeting with a Duke shortly after her act. Well, Christian and Toulouse have already ran into the Duke, and when Zidler points out the duke to Satine, she does not see the Duke, but rather Christian, who instead shows up at the private meeting. Sound weird enough to you? It's even weirder to see. All the music in the movie is great, but if it seems familiar, that's because all but one song (The gorgeous 'Come What May')are remixes of classic rock and stage play songs. It still sounds unique and it all matches the on screen looniness. All though it's established that Moulin Rouge! is a weird movie, it's also a very sad movie. Each character has their own unique charm, and the silliness doesn't totally leave the movie, it stays consistent, but it of course, had to be toned down to make way for the more emotional, and serious main act, which will leave you in tears. I admit, the scenes leading up to the saddest part of the movie do seem unfitting as the end is a hard blow out of a rather exciting scene, but it's clear that the comedic part has made it's end, and it's time for the main act to deal out it's sad story. The movie does what a lot can't: It provides two different stories, that remain consistent with one another. The comedy act almost always hits, with you snickering or even laughing out loud at the overall craziness of the characters, but then the romance act sneaks in, and it's genuine and true, and in some points, even does a collaborative dance with the comedy act, but the romance ends in Tragedy, which severs it's ties with the comedy, though it never loses step. It's a wonderful movie, it's funny, it's sad, it's weird, and I would recommend this movie to anyone.