Moulin Rouge

Film Data:

Moulin Rouge is a musical drama from 2001, written by Craig Pearce and Baz Luhrmann, and directed by Luhrmann himself. Produced by Twentieth Century Fox with an estimated budget of $52.5 million dollars, the film grossed over $179 million. The film was shot in studios in Madrid and Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, the latter has hosted movies like The Matrix (1999) and more recently The Great Gatsby (2013). The film stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in the protagonist roles, and other actors such as John Leguizamo, Richard Roxburgh, and Jim Broadbent. Moulin Rouge won 2 Academy Awars in 2002 for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Makeup, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Picture.

Synopsis:

    The film starts in 1900 when a depressed writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) is sitting at his desk and begins to write on his typewriter the title "Nature Boy". One year before, he had moved to the Montmartre district of Paris because he wanted to become a writer and member of the Bohemian movement. He meets a group of performers led by Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo). Christian's writing skills allow the group to finish their show "Spectacular Spectacular", that they want to sell to Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), the owner of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, where poor and rich men come to be entertained by the "Diamond Dog Dancers". Toulouse arranges for Christian to see the star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge, Satin (Nicole Kidman) in her private quarters, to present their work to her. Zidler is promising Satine to the wealthy and unscrupulous Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh), who wants to invest in the cabaret. However, the Duke will only pay if he can get Satine.

   Satine confuses Christian with the Duke and dances with him before discussing things in private. When Satine learns that he is just a writer. It is too late. Christian has already fallen in love with her. The Duke interrupts them, and both pretend to be rehearsing the lines for "Spectacular Spectacular". The Duke agrees to support the show only if he is allowed to see Satine.

    

    

   Satine confesses to Christian her desire to escape Moulin Rouge in order to become a real actress. Christian tries to convince Satine that she loves him. They continue to see each other secretly . The Duke becomes jealous and warns Zidler that he is going to stop financing the show. Zidler arranges for Satine to have dinner with the Duke, but she falls sick. Earlier in the film it had been clearly suggested that Satine was suffering from tuberculosis. After Zidler learns that Satine's condition has worsen and that she has short time to live, Zidler makes excuses to the Duke, alleging that Satine has gone to confession. Satine tries to convince Christian that they cannot be together because their love affair endangers the show.

   Satine, Christian and the Duke engage in a dangerous love triangle, up to the point when the Duke tells Zidler that he will have Christian killed if Satine does not stay with him. Zidler informs this to Satine, but when she refuses to be with the Duke, he tells her that she is dying. Fearing for Christian's life, Satine tells him that they cannot be together anymore. Christian falls into a deep depression despite Toulouse's affirmation that Satine does love him.
    Christian then decides that he can pay for Satine's love just as the Duke has done, and he sneaks into the night club on the night of the show. He tries to stop Satine before she goes on stage and the two engage in a musical tragedy on stage, as the Duke tries to kill him.
  After the curtain closes, Satine's condition leads her to the end. She and Christian affirm their love after the last goodbye.

Comment:

    Being the first musical nominated to the Academy Awards for Best Picture in 10 years after the success of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, certainly Moulin Rouge deserves all the nominations and awards received.

    The film has been thoroughly praised and condemned since its release in 2001. It revived a genre that had been dead for a long time. Many experts consider that the film does not conform to the contemporary parameters of cinema. In fact, Moulin Rouge actually recreates theatrical performances within the context of the cinema, and this was innovative at the time.

     The plot of the film does not offer a complicated story, not even a complex love story. It is very simple: the forbidden love affair between the star courtesan of one of the most prestigious night clubs in Paris and a poor writer. However, the film can be praised for the visual and aesthetic savoir-faire. The art direction of the film won an Oscar, as well as the Costume Design. Both elements worked together to catch on scene the sumptuousness of the most famous ever "cabaret parisien". Surprisingly, no scene of the film was shot on the Moulin Rouge itself. The art direction recreated the lavishness of the place perfectly.

    

 The viewer is driven into the story and Paris nightlife of 1989 by a moving camera, an aggressive mise-en-scene, carefully labored costumes and last but not least, the original soundtrack of the film. The musical genre depends a huge percentage on the songs of the film. Moulin Rouge brings on many famous pop songs from worldwide known stars such as Madonna, Elton John, Nirvana, and Police. The new flavor of those hits was given by the one and only Craig Armstrong. Every song seems to have the right place on the plot, and one intertwines with one another. Particular acknowledgement should be given to the protagonists who are not professional singers and used their voices for the soundtrack. 

   The film uses high contrasts, warm colors, and spotlights, techniques that remind us of the charm of the theater. Lovers of the classical Hollywood musical may argue that this film is non-sense. Those who love theater and Broadway performances will reaffirm after watching it that Shakespearean phrase: "All the world is a stage".