The Best Movie In The World

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2002)

What is there to say about Moulin Rouge? Well, I could start by saying that, Baz does it right again! Part of Baz's talent is the fact that he can take some of the weirdest subjects in the world and make them into wonderful movies. WONDERFUL movies.
Now I know that some critics did not like Moulin Rouge, or Romeo+Juliet, or Strictly Ballroom, but those are movies that you need to see twice before you like them. By the second time, the initial shock is gone.
I'll admit, the first time I saw Moulin Rouge; I skipped right to the end when I heard Ewan McGregor say (in the first five minutes) that the woman he loved was dead. The second time I saw it, I watched the entire thing and was blown away. By the third time, I was hooked.
Nicole Kidman, who I had never seen in a movie before this, has a wonderful voice, and I think that this movie, a fun, romantic, hilarious movie, must've been good for her considering her recent divorce from Tom Cruise. Her voice blow you away first during `Sparkling Diamonds' and then again during her solo `One Day I'll Fly Away' Though her death scene went on just a bit too long, her performance in this movie was astounding, and thank God the people at MTV have more sense than the Academy, considering she won the MTV Movie Award for Best Actress.
Ewan McGregor, Good Lord Ewan McGregor. I had seen him in Star Wars before this, but I had never really known the depth of his acting. Once I saw Moulin Rouge, I was in love. Seriously. For a month, I seriously considered marrying him. That is, until I realized he was already married (that's always the catch isn't it?). I got over that though and I am currently on a mission to see every movie he's been in. Ewan, who really, really, looks good in this movie, can sing better than some of the hot stars now *cough-boy bands-cough-cough-rappers-cough*, makes me want to automatically skip to the `Your Song' scene, just so I can hear his solo.
Speaking of, the music of this movie is so.out of this world that, at first glance, it's hard to even realize what it is. Suddenly, Dolly Parton and Elton John are being mixed. Old men in tuxedos are singing Nirvana's `Smells Like Teen Spirit'. Then Zidler and the Duke are singing `Like A Virgin' as though it's a Broadway number. And the mix is perfect. Don't even try messing with it.
The best song is `Tango de Roxanne' which is a remake of the Sting song. No offense to Sting, but his version-well-sucked. This version is a mix of a tango and the original song. It starts out with the Narcoleptic Argentinean telling Christian `Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself, it always ends BAD!' Then, he proceeds to sing the song, a haunting rendition, with thirty couples in the background doing the same steps. It truly is the perfect piece to go with the scene which is when *SPOILERS SPOILERS* the Duke realizes that Christian and Satine are in love and tries to rape her. Dark music for a dark scene. Take that people who said that they thought the movie was pointless!
If you are a person who never watches a whole movie after twenty minutes, claiming that you disliked the first bit and the rest should be just as bad, stick with Moulin Rouge. Many think that the beginning was stupid and funny, and that the movie must have no worth. The first thirty minutes or so are funny, and needed, so just wait awhile for the seriousness to kick in.
And it does get serious. When Christian and Satine are in love, they have to hide that from the overly jealous Duke. Satine has Consumption, and the only cure for that in 1899 was prayer. She had violent coughing fits that left her unconscious and spitting up blood. And the Duke has a violent, possessive temper that results him in ordering his manservant Warner to kill Christian.
So it's not a happy movie. But it is. Ewan and Nicole have such great chemistry together that, when she dies you start yelling at the TV-if you have the strength, this death scene will make you cry for ten minutes straight-, `That's not the way it's supposed to end! Satine's supposed to become a great actress, and Christian is supposed to be a great author, and you're supposed to get married and have kids and be happy!' But maybe that's just me. When the two sing, it's like forget the outside world, these two are just too good together.
So, go rent Moulin Rouge. It will be the best movie you've seen. I swear to you that it is.