Learn to love LOVE again

Rating: Null/10 (22 August 2001)

The summer of 2001 was, as most critics will wholeheartedly disagree, a fairly reasonable season for the movies. Sure, we've had some giant disappointments ("Pearl Harbor", "Planet of the Apes" anyone?) but hey, 1999 had both "Wild Wild West" and "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" in the same summer, so 2001 can hardly have that held against it. Then, there have been some highlights this summer as well. "A Knight's Tale" was some fun relief at the summer's opening, as well as "Shrek", the ultimately hilarious CGI-film that surprised all who saw it, and then there was "The Fast and the Furious", which can hardly be called an excellent film but was widely praised for its supercharged action sequences.

With impressive summer movies already put on my shoulders, there was one film missing in my so-called repertoire... I had been waiting to see it all year long. It was "Moulin Rouge", a musical, of all things, directed by the man responsible for the dance-masterpiece "Strictly Ballroom" and the bleak vision of society's association with William Shakespeare, 1996's "Romeo + Juliet". With all the hype behind it, and the fact that it was a Baz Luhrmann film, AND the fact that I had been waiting all year to see it, I could not afford to be disappointed... and I wasn't. This fantastic film was all I expected and much, much, MUCH more!

First, the story. Christian (Ewan McGregor) is a poor writer who deceives his father by moving to Montmartre, France, circa 1899. He has "demenaged" to this "city of sin", hoping to indulge the four things he believes make life worth living: truth, beauty, freedom and love. Once there, he moves into an apartment directly below the dwarvish French artist, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo, nothing short of hilarious in his diminutive role), who is conceiving a mass-production for the notorious nightclub across the street, the "Moulin Rouge". Henri's problem: his star and associate writer is a narcoleptic Argentinian (Jacek Koman). After the Argentinian falls asleep through the floor into Christian's room below, Toulouse-Lautrec commissions Christian to help them out in writing the production they call "Spectacular Spectacular!" Christian, seeing he has little choice in the matter, agrees to do so, and leaves an indelible impression upon Toulouse when Christian - dressed in Lederhosen and mounted above cardboard Swiss Alps - electrifies their creativity as he sings "The hills are alive - with the sound of music!" Toulouse and his compatriates feel it is time for Christian to propose the production to the nightclub's owner, Harold Zidler (a very flamboyant and eye-catching Jim Broadbent).
Once Christian enters the Moulin Rouge, he is immediately captured by this nightclub of dreams. The can-canning ladies enter the room belting out "Lady Marmalade" with a background techno beat by Fatboy Slim, while at the same time the men seeking pleasure in these women burst into the room with their own, hyped-up, rousing version of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". This is a nightclub that would capture anyone, anyday, anytime, anywhere... even in our modern, shallow society that couldn't bare to get their money's worth with this masterpiece of a film.

But anyway, on with the summary! In the midst of this frantic foray, the jewel of Christian's eye in this nightclub is the marvelously gorgeous Satine (Nicole Kidman). She stumbles into his life looking like Marilyn Monroe on a trapeze, all the while singing Monroe's own "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". In a mysterious set of circumstances, Christian is arranged a meeting with this diva, and in turn captures her heart with his uncanny obsession with love and all he knows about it. This soon becomes a problem when the Duke of Worcestor (Richard Roxburgh) becomes aware. The Duke is the one whom Zidler turns to for investment in the nightclub. It is the Duke who will provide finances for "Spectacular Spectacular!", but he'll only do it with a contract binding Satine's talents... and her body... to him. Christian and Satine, in turn, are forced to hide their love from the Duke so that the show can go on, Satine can be made into a star, and the two can go on, loving each other beyond time itself, happily... ever... after.

Had enough? I've only scratched the surface in terms of what there remains to be seen in "Moulin Rouge". This film, by all terms, is the perfect one for all who find their niche in the performing arts, whether it be music, acting, writing, or even loving itself. Conservatives, anal-retentives, and nitpickers I bid you beware... you'll be indulged by all that you may find to complain about with in the film. Perhaps "Moulin Rouge" is an allegory for Baz Luhrmann's true mission as a filmmaker. It seems to me that Baz Luhrmann is an ambassador of love for all who cease to understand it. Think about it a moment, all his films have the underlying subject of love (in "Strictly Ballroom" and "Romeo + Juliet" it's quite clear, not to mention this one), and in each one he ventures to present the power of love, the pain of love, and the ultimate outcome of it all. He ventures to present every angle of love, not to merely let people know that it is "good", because in some cases he lets us know how painful it is. But in the end, we realize that Maestro Luhrmann's mission is to show all his audiences how to love again, and personally, I believe he's done a far better job here than James Cameron did with "Titanic" or, worse yet, Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer did with "Pearl Harbor".

"Moulin Rouge" is a film where there is something for everyone. For singers and music lovers, there are a million songs we have all grown to love (and, in some cases, loathe) over the years, including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)," Eden Ahbez' "Nature Boy," (performed in this case by David Bowie), and the latter singer's "Diamond Dogs" and "Heroes". (Ironically enough, David Bowie beautifully masters Ahbez' jazz classic "Nature Boy," but he seems to have been kept as far away as possible from singing his own tunes.) For visual-seekers, the production design, costumes, and cinematography are more than enough to satisfy your ravenous eyes. For musical-lovers, there's plenty of reference to musicals past, so you'll definitely find something to identify with here. And, even for the sarcastic and edgy-humored, you'll find much to enjoy with parodies of "Titanic" and other sappy love stories of the past.

Whew! I think I've said enough to praise this film. Satan be the name of those who try to discourage me from loving it so dearly. I give "Moulin Rouge" 4 1/2 stars on a five star scale.