June 2001 - in the midst of chaos

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2009)

I remember Moulin Rouge! (MR) being featured very heavily at the beginning of spring and its subsequent release. The musical (outside of animation) was a dead genre until the arrival of MR. As I sit watching this movie on this day--a day after the music world has suffered a tremendous loss of talent, it reminds me of a few scant years ago when optimism and frivolity were the daily trends. Spiritual refreshment could consist of a trip to coffee bar, and nothing deep was required to put the world into order.
MR was the height of this light-hearted time -- a film about competing lovers and a dying young woman--La Boheme simplified. MR followed such light films as "Can't Hardly Wait", "American Pie", and "Scream".
Then, came darkness on a crisp, fall morning--change. But, the musical genre was revived. "High School, the Musical", "Phantom of...", "Chicago", "Sweeney Todd", and so forth follow in the shadow of MR.