Marvellous postmodern pastiche and surprising singing skills.

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 2001)

Moulin Rouge was a joy to watch. I had not seen any previews or advertisements for the film, but had seen the John Huston film of the same title about Henri de Tolouse-Latrec. This film, while sharing the title, was not about Tolouse-Latrec, but about love and, more importantly, about the power of the narrative. This postmodern pastiche of song lyrics and stunningly dynamic images reinforced the concept that our lives, emotions, and actions are all the story that we are constantly writing. Some great symbolic actions, such as the character Chocolate catching Nicole Kidman's character twice, once literally and once figuratively, highlighted the idea that the lives of the characters were text. Other uses of narrative as reality, songs used as dialogue for example, invested the film with wit and meaning. Ewan McGregor's voice was surprisingly good and Nicole Kidman was no slouch in that department either. The film also appeals to a wide range of age groups--for the same reasons, too.