The best opera I've ever seen

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2001)

One should always be suspicious of promises that something will be "like nothing you've ever seen", but Moulin Rouge is a breathtakingly original work of art. As I watched it, I could not help thinking that this is what opera is all about. Everything - the actors, the music, the costumes, the sets, the cinematography - contributes to the development and expression of the story. The plot is indeed simple, but it is archetypal in its simplicity, and speaks volumes on the themes of the movie - truth, beauty, freedom, but most of all love. I am reminded of opera because of Wagner's esthetic of trying to create Gesamtkunstwerke - complete works of art - and this movie goes much further toward that ideal than any opera I've ever seen. Most of the musical numbers are a collage of songs and each snippet that is recognized evokes some distinct memory or emotion. These are distilled packages of emotion that add to the sea of sensory stimulus that washes over you as the movie unfolds. The director had a unique vision and surrounded himself with remarkable artists who seem to have been challenged to be at the height of their creativity. I was stunned by this movie and wept as the last credit rolled by, not because of the sadness of the story, but because it was so beautiful.