On my top 10 list

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2005)

I first watched Moulin Rouge because it was a musical, but it turns out it's not just any ordinary musical- it's a story that's heartbreaking and realistic.
Set in 1899, in Paris, France, it's a vivid love story. Christian, a handsome young writer, comes to Paris from London to write about truth, beauty, freedom, and love, the ideals of the Bohemian Revolution, despite his father's scorn of the whole idea. There was only one problem with this- he'd never been in love before.
As he is puzzling about how to write about something he'd never experienced, a Narcoleptic Argentinean falls through his ceiling from the flat above his own, and a carefree, laughing dwarf comes in to rescue the Argentinean. The dwarf, the Argentinean, and three other men who are peering down through the hole in Christian's ceiling are working on a play called Spectacular Spectacular, which they are to present to Harold Zidler the next day. Christian comes up to substitute for the Argentinean, who is still unconscious, and an argument ensues among the other men on what the words and tune to a song in the play should be. When Christian comes up with the perfect match, it is voted that he write the play.
Zidler is the owner of the Moulin Rouge, a nightclub where "the rich and powerful come to play with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld". Toulouse, the dwarf, passes Christian off as a famous English writer, and arranges for him to meet with Satine, the most beautiful of all the Moulin Rouge dancers, who will, in turn, convince Zidler to have Christian write the play.
Zidler had arranged, however, for Satine to meet a duke that evening, which is who Satine mistakes Christian for, and soon Satine has to choose between the two men. The duke falls in love with Satine and shows her all the wonderful things he can give her, but Christian shows Satine all the things that true love can be. As it becomes harder to hide their love, Satine has another problem that is becoming harder to avoid- a more personal one that leads to a tragic climax.
This is a beautiful story that definitely makes my top 10 list of movies- I recommend it.