Those French Really Have Fun

Rating: 9/10 (2 March 2006)

This is a true experience. I was halfway through the movie. I still didn't understand it, but I sat in its lush glow and vivacity. Baz Luhrmann threw together a mass of elements into a soup that will make some people hate it and others love it. For whatever reason, I walked out of the theater exhilarated. First, we have the love story. Satine and her young writer. We know it is doomed from the time she coughs into her handkerchief. Then there is the theatre. It's what we might see something like this in our dreams. Then there are the French painters, mugging and wandering through, stealing scenes. Through in some contemporary music mixed with music created for the film. It's a hodgepodge. I remember a story by Ray Bradbury where a Chinese emperor doesn't want to face reality. I believe it is called "The Flying Machine." He stairs at a mechanical toy with artificial birds and flowers. This is like one of those wondrous machines. I don't even know if we can form an emotional attachment for the characters because they are like dolls moving through the amazing numbers and visual delights. I remember trying to tell someone why I liked this, and by the time I finished, I could see that he would not go near this movie. And yet, for some of us, it reels us in and holds us to the very end. Go figure.