Ooh La La!

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2001)

"Moulin Rouge" is truly a feast for the eyes and ears. It's very visual and colorful, showing the famed Moulin Rouge club as a sort of Studio 54 of 19th-century Paris. Baz Luhrmann makes excellent use of imagery, even in the 20th Century Fox logo! One thing I liked was when familiar lyrics creep into the dialogue, and then you're set up for a musical number, just like Jim Broadbent's rendition of "Like a Virgin." Part of the fun of "Moulin Rouge" is identifying the songs you hear! And John Leguizamo was hilarious as Henri Toulouse-Lautrec! He does his role well, and convincingly. His legs are more believable than his nose! Anyway, the whole film has the visual punch of a dose of absinthe. The bohemian lifestyle was never so fantastic!