What a surprise!

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2002)

Having believed that "The Lord of the Rings" should have won the oscar for best picture, I was surprised to find that "Moulin Rouge" was, actually, the better picture. Without reading any publicity about this movie, I had thought that it would be a typical musical centered on life at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. How wrong. This movie was more surrealistic than could be imagined. It played more as a colorful, crisply directed, film that would puts MTV musical videos to shame. Why this picture's director wasn't nominated for an award is beyond me. The story, a romance between a Bohemian writer and the theater's star attraction was poignant. Both stars play their rolls to perfection. Ms. Kidman was beautiful, more so than ever I realized. But, the true beauty of this production was in its rendering. A musical using both original songs and works by such writers as Elton John and Paul McCartney. It might not be for everyone. But for fans that enjoy the color and excitment of a beautifully crafted piece of work, this is it. An "art" film placed on the big screen. And, art it is.