Directed by Baz Luhrmann Starring: Ewan Mcgregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, John Leguizamo, Jacek Koman, Kerry Walker Review by Nina Katungi
SYNOPSIS:
Its 1899 Christian a young, English, aspiring writer recounts a tale of beauty, freedom, and most of all love. This story is about Christian and a Courtesan called Satine, the love of his life who came and went in the blink of an eye. This is the greatest love story ever told.
Baz Luhrman is the king when it comes to music, theatre, and the big screen. He decorates the screen with his beautiful vision and this time he also succeeds in creating a musical that belongs with the classics. When people refer to films as a form of escapism or allowing your imagination to run free then people are referring to Baz Luhrman’s “Moulin Rouge”. This film, to me, is like being a kid in a candy store. It’s one of my absolute favourite roles for Nicole Kidman too. In comparison to her previous roles this one certainly brings out a new side of her. I’m really looking forward to seeing her in “Nine” directed by Rob Marshall, another role which brings her back to music and theatre on the big screen.
Christian (McGregor) moves to Paris in hope to become a part of the so-called “bohemian revolution”. He wants to write about freedom, beauty, and love. When Christian finally arrives and
sets himself up in the centre of this upheaval, reality strikes, how is he supposed to write about something he has yet to experience? He is suddenly interrupted by a group of artists who are working on a revolutionary play called “Spectacular Spectacular”. While giving them a hand Christian’s talent oozes out and in no time the artists appoint him writer and director of the play.
For the play to be a success they must lure Satine (Kidman), a Courtesan and star of the Moulin Rouge, to join the show. Satine’s dream is to be a real actress where she will perform in a real theatre. Toulouse (Leguizamo) arranges a meeting with Satine after her evening’s performance at the Moulin Rouge. Christian and the group arrive at the Moulin Rouge to a fantastical performance lead by the ring leader “Harold Ziddler” (Broadbent). Once Christian sees Satine he is instantly in awe of her but Satine is supposed to meet someone else that night, an investor, “The Duke”(Roxburgh). She mixes the Duke up with Christian and unintentionally falls in love with him during their meeting. Once Satine realises Christians not the Duke it’s too late, she’s already swept off her feet. But they need the Duke’s money for the show, so Satine continues to lead him on until the play is complete.
As time goes by Satine and Christian’s love builds stronger and stronger. In the meantime the Duke grows more and more impatient as Satine continues to make excuses for not spending time with him. The longer he waits the more infatuated the Duke becomes with Satine. Love becomes a deadly game as Satine is forced to keep the Duke interested. Christian’s jealousy starts to surface and Satine’s strong exterior begins to melt away - she is no longer able to keep her feelings for Christian hidden in the depths of her heart. Throughout this time unbeknownst to Christian and the Duke, Satine’s health is also withering away. Suddenly, the night before the “Oopeng” things start to crumble and get out of hand. The truth comes out about Christian and Satine - their love is at stake, the theatres at stake, and suddenly Christian’s safety is at stake. Satine must make the ultimate sacrifice to save the man she loves.
“Moulin Rouge” is a wonderful musical and certainly belongs in the genre among musical classic like “High Society” and “Gigi”. The one main element that makes it stand out from the rest is the fact that the songs used have been taken from the most popular love songs ever written. The songs have been adapted to their new scenes, so at moments these familiar tunes may sound unrecognizable. It was a highly risky task for Luhrman to take on. Songs from the likes of “The Police”, “Madonna”, and “Elton John” have had endless airtime on the radio, television, and in films. People know these songs and mostly everyone will have their own personal memory of the songs. Chances that the audience may reject the new versions of the songs were very high but Luhrman outdid us all, he created a complete original piece of music fit only for this love story.
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MOULIN ROUGE 2001
