A Fantastic Whiz-Bang Film

Rating: 10/10 (10 June 2001)

It takes a certain kind of movie to wow me, and glue to my seat. "Moulin Rouge" did that very thing. I'm a huge fan of Baz Luhrman's "Romeo + Juliet" and especially " Strictly Ballroom". His kinetic style and flashy direction give him a trademark that it seems no one in Hollywood would want to emulate. Injecting pop music into a genuinely 30s musical, just helped the movie roll along. You couldn't help but snicker when you hear incredible versions of "Like A Virgin" and even "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sung by old men. This movie moves at a pace that would make grandmothers faint, but would have 12 year olds drawn to the MTV style movements. Finally a movie that gloriously recreates something most see everyday, music videos, adding a story and placing in into a interesting environment. Thats basically what "Moulin Rouge" is: a music video.
Its these kinds of movies that make me more and more excited about the kinds of films people are willing to make these days. If there were just 3 more Baz Luhrman's in Hollywood, we wouldn't have movies like "Pearl Harbor" or "Battlefield Earth", to name a few. The whole time I kept thinking how great this movie would translate to the stage. Wow. As of now, "Moulin Rouge" is the best movie I've seen this year.