Wow!

Rating: 10/10 (18 February 2002)

When I walked out of the theater after seeing Moulin Rouge for the first time I was speechless. It took days for all I had just seen to sink in. I saw it two more times in the theaters and walked away always craving more. This film just "woke me up" so to speak and rejuvenated my spirits which were crushed by the mass-produced monotonous films of the season.
Baz Luhrmann is a visual genius. He decided that he was going to spend millions of dollars making a lavish, all out, decadent, artistic musical experience. He could have spent this money making the next hallow Schwarzenegger film, but instead he decided to go out on a limb and a masterpiece was the final product.
Some people have argued that this film merely shows glitz and glamour over substance, but I disagree. As he did with his version of Romeo and Juliet, Luhrmann has a way of using visual brilliance and music to convey emotions that could never be done with conventional filmmaking. The extraordinary artists, designers, and editors are the stars of the film, but the performers, especially Kidman, McGregor, and Broadbent steal the show.
The songs are incredible too. Only Luhrmann could combine Nirvana, Queen, Elton John and other pop figures into one giant montage of artistic vision. It feels as though the songs were written for the movie, as they work perfectly with each scene, and the stars can sing beautifully too!
This film is a work of love. It is obvious that everyone who was involved with the picture took it to heart. The story I'll admit is not original - in fact it's very similar to Romeo and Juliet, a story which has been beaten to the ground at this point. But the film is still very original as it takes the feelings and emotions of love and splashes them across the screen in every scene. In the first half of the film we see the mystical world of Bohemia through the eyes of Christian who is in love. Much like in Romeo and Juliet, during the second half the mood changes leading up to an emotional climax.
However, it is when he is in love that Bohemia sparkles, showing how love can change everything. This film is essentially a tribute to the power of love to change one's world.
I suggest that you watch this film with an open mind and an open heart, and just let yourself fall into this irrational glittering world of Bohemia during the "summer of love." You too will fall in love with Luhrmann's style, trust me.