High energy and epic romance combine!

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 2001)

As "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" revolutionized the martial arts genre, director Baz Luhrman knew exactly what he was try to accomplish with "Moulin Rouge", and pull it off brilliantly and beautifully. Moulin Rouge is a joy to take in from start to finish, and does for the musical genre what Crouching Tiger did for the martial arts, or maybe more-so.
We open on Christian (McGregor), a young, and apparently haunted young poet, who immediately starts enlightening us with the story that makes the movie. The opening scene in the Moulin Rouge is stunningly gorgeous and brilliantly smart, incorporating modern music in an earlier time period, with a large sequence including everything from Lady Marmalade, the hit single from the soundtrack, to a brilliantly operatic version of Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. After the fun and the brilliance of this sequence subsides, the beautiful Nicole Kidman makes her sparkling entrance as the star of the Moulin Rouge with an exciting interpretation of the classic "Diamonds". Meanwhile, Christian is present take sin this event, after being asked to attend by aspiring playmakers (who happened to meet him by hilarious circumstances), trying to convince him to write their play, while getting Statine (Kidman) to star in it. As this event takes place, Satine wrongly mistakes Christian for the Duke, one of her "costumers", and takes him home with her, under the impression that he is interested in doing a little more than a poetry reading. But while Satine and Christian converse (and a little more) they immediately fall in love, and perform a sequence incorporating Blondie, The Wallflowers, and more. Things do not, however, go as planned when the Duke decides he wants Satine for himself, and Satine makes a discovery that will influence both her, Christian, and the Moulin Rouge's existence forever. With dazzling musical numbers, brilliant directing, and wonderful performances by both the two leads (who, by the way, sing their hearts out) and the delightful ensemble cast, mixed with modern hits and classics, this film gaurantees to become a classic. Moulin Rouge could easily start a chain of modern musicals, being appealing to the teen audience, and the adult audience alike, who will enjoy recognizing the music that is sung, and be intrigued by the epic romance that the story provides. The director makes sure not to go overboard with the music and completely forget about the wonderful story that makes the movie. Instead of having pointless characters for comic relief, some of the music serves as that (especially the performance of Maddonna's Like a Virgin) while still maintaining the mood that the director wanted. Overall, Moulin Rouge is a must see for anybody who loves music, theatre, or, most of all, movies. Soon to become a classic, Moulin Rouge is the best movie this year, and quite possibly, one of the most in-genius and beautiful movies of all time.