What we found is that the stories don't change, but the way in which you tell them does. You have to find a code for any particular place and moment in time. Although the real Moulin Rouge's most famous champion, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, appears as a character played by John Leguizamo, his role is that of the film's wounded conscience. They bring him to the Moulin Rouge, where he and Satine fall in love, though the show's production depends on her becoming the exclusive property of the Duke. The story is loosely based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, who, endowed with the ability to charm wild beasts and move rocks and trees with his singing voice, descends into Hades to retrieve his neglected wife, Eurydice.
People die and relationships come about that end.
But that relationship cannot be, and it passes on by, and if you look back instead of moving on, it will destroy you. That moment is like a poem or a dream, and we strove to give the film that sense. It's very important that you choose a recognizable myth. In the case of 'Strictly Ballroom,' it was David and Goliath. Here it's the Orpheus myth.