Paradox: Cheesy but tasteful

Rating: 4/10 (7 October 2001)

This movie was La Boheme - with a serious twist. I thought the parallelisms were sweet. I loved the tome and atmosphere of the movie. The stage came alive and you felt like you were there. And just as the Moulin Rouge played popular music of the day. So did this. The scenery took you back to a place you'd never been and the music was intended to make you feel as if this was your Moulin Rouge. As if then were now and vice versa. T.S. Eliot's "objective correlative" if you will. The problem is that I felt thrown off by the medley of popular love songs. It felt out of place, out of time and out of character to me instead of drawing me in - which I believe was it's intended purpose. Still I have a good deal of professional respect for the gutsy decision to take that chance. The movie itself is full of lively vibrant characters and the scenery and costumes are gaudy to the point of storybookish. Worth seeing, if only for the sake of interest.