Wildest ride of the year

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2001)

See this movie. Two hours of kinetic energy that transport you into a world of color, song and dance. From the opening Twentieth Century Fox titles you know this is going to be a different kind of movie. It dares to clash and stand out and scream and go on and on and on, until you give in to the spectacle, and find yourself just one of the many patrons of the Moulin Rouge staring wide eyed and trying to catch your breath. Run-ons abound, but that's the point. This film has no periods or commas, no gentle transitions. It's about constant movement.
Besides the glorious dizzy speed, Moulin Rouge is a well constructed and clever story, circling around a love triangle amidst a play that mirrors the events of the production as they unfold. I was reminded of Tim Robbin's Cradle Will Rock, another great movie that used a production of a play, to reveal and test the convictions of characters. Both films use art as a reflection of the artist, and the artist as a reflection of his art. Both explore the financial needs of a production giving way to its integrity. The difference between the two is, Cradle is more cerebral, Moulin is more emotional. Hyper-emotional. Romantic.
Moulin Rouge is about love, and what we are willing to sacrifice to keep that love. I loved this movie.