Spectacular Spectacular!

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2016)

The story of Moulin Rouge begins with a despaired young man, Christian, typing at his typewriter, alone in a dark, shabby apartment he clicks away the tragedy that the audience is about to watch. Flashing back he runs into others in his building he is convinced to write a play for the famous Moulin Rouge, a nightclub in Paris. There he is mesmerized by Satine, the star of the show, and that night they begin their elusive love affair that would eventually bring down the walls of conventional romance. Although they attempt to keep it secret they can't hide their feelings from themselves or others around them. From this, the investor of the club, the Duke, finds out and gives Satine an ultimatum, continue to see Christian or shut down the nightclub. She makes the choice to give the writer up and star in the show one last time before leaving to marry the Duke. In the end Christian cannot take that the love of his life abandons him for fame and confronts her on opening night. Face to face with him Satine can no longer keep up the charade, she confesses that she was coerced by the evil Duke and falls into Christian's arms as the curtain drops. But, this is the point where a happy ending turns to tragedy. Satine, having consumption, dies there as he holds her tightly. In the end we relay back to the old broken apartment and the final thoughts of the man, heartbroken, alone and depressed from losing the only first love he has ever known.
Obviously my short synopsis doesn't give the extraordinary value that this plot line deserves. The story flows very well and feels complete in the end. There are only a few questions or plot holes but they don't take away from the main story. Stunningly the feature is completed in only 127 minutes, which is typical for a musical and not long at all. Usually sitting in a movie for 2 hours can be daunting but with such a compelling fun story it doesn't feel like a task. No matter how many times I watch it, which is probably close to 50, I still get thrown for a loop with the ending. I love watching every scene and seeing the story unfold time after time.
Something else I enjoy a lot from this film is the time period. Set in the middle of the Bohemian Revolution in 1899 Paris, France it takes you back to a time where art, freedom, love and beauty brought together a beggared society just trying to find their place in the world. It is very accurate towards that era and the production team worked very hard to bring it together. Although they filmed most of it in a studio the set they built represented what the real Moulin Rouge would have been like in 1899. To mimic the lifestyle they placed the time at night, which was when most of the indigent, lowlife traversed. They kept the inside of the Moulin Rouge bright and glowing to show that it was the main focus and a sort of "saving grace" for the vagabonds that ventured there. They bring to life its high point just before it burnt down in 1915.
Not only is the setting fantastic, the costumes live up to the same standards. With a variety of time period garments such as can-can dancer dresses, men's coattail suits with top hats and elegant bustled dresses, it brings an attraction and as the French would say gena sa qua. Each costume is unique, having its own personality and I really love finding little details that I missed the previous time, there's always something new to see. You can tell that a lot of research and work went into creating these time pieces.
Moulin Rouge brings together not only an original score but a compilation of songs from well-known artist. Musicians such as David Bowie, U2, The Beatles, and Elton John lend their poetic lyrics to invoke heartfelt emotion into the story. The majority of the songs are very meaningful and pull the audience into the moment. But not all are like that, the rest are catchy and exciting, such as "Lady Marmalade" and "Spectacular Spectacular", they make you want to get up and dance. My favorite would have to be "Roxanne".
There is not one cast member that I don't believe fits the part they played. Besides being my favorite actor, Ewan McGregor, who plays Christian, was picked over top actors such as Leo DiCaprio and Heath Ledger. His counterpart, Nicole Kidman, who is coincidently my favorite female actress, won the Golden Globe for best actress for her work in this film.
The most important thing I took from this movie is the metaphor that it engrafts. This story is about freedom, beauty, truth and most relevantÂ…love. Love is the strongest motif and is represented through the whole film. The relationship between Christian and Satine symbolizes such a pure and true love that anyone should aspire to. It is also about overcoming all obstacles and living your dreams. The freedom to not only be with who you want but to not be trapped by the confines of what society says you should be.
A movie with such symbolism is not well received by all. I believe that these few who look down upon it are not willing nor see the message that is lain before them. I hope that whoever sees this takes into their heart the deeper meaning. It's not just about how well the costumes are made or what actors play in it, it's about what someone takes away from it at the end and uses to influence their own life. Moulin Rouge is one of the greatest movies I have seen in my time and I feel honored to have discovered it and its true value to the world.