According to imdb.com, the plot of this musical was based off of 3 operas...personally I thought it was a modern day Romeo and Juliet, except with much less death (which is ironic since Baz Luhrmann also directed the newest version of Romeo & Juliet). Christian (McGregor) is an idealistic young writer (i.e. Romeo) who travels to France to write. He obsessed with the quest for love. Shortly after arriving he meets a strange group of Bohemians, led by Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo). They are trying to write a musical which will exemplify their Bohemian beliefs of Beauty, Truth, and Love. They are impressed by Christian and ask him to pitch their idea that evening. Together the men dress up and go into the underworld of the city to the Moulin Rouge (which is basically a whore house). While there, they set up a meeting with Satine (Kidman) the most beautiful courtesan. That evening Satine is supposed to meet a Duke (Richard Roxburgh) who wants to be their patron. After several scenes of mistaken identity, the Duke agrees to finance their show Spectacular, Spectacular and Christian and Satine fall in love. This film also stars Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge.
The first 20 or so minutes of the movie are thrown at you, and you have to decide to either accept them or stop watching. If you accept them, you are eventually treated to a real plot line (which is easy to follow...and to predict the ending). The music featured in this film are modern songs (Madonna, David Bowie, Nirvana, etc), sung by the cast. Also, the song Lady Marmalade (which is sung at the Moulin Rouge) was recorded by Christina Aguillera, Little Kim, Pink, Mia, and Missy Elliot although they do not appear in the film. The only orginal song in the film was actually written for a different Baz Luhrmann film (ironically it was supposed to be used in Romeo & Juliet), "Come What May". The film is beautiful, and you get sucked in so that by the end your heart is completely broken and if you are female you fall in love with Ewan McGregor, ::sigh::
?...i wouldn't say this film is quotable, but the soundtrack is pretty sweet
Rent it multiple times: if you can survive it once, watch it again so you can completely enjoy it (or just watch the musical numbers). I would also suggest purchasing the soundtracks (I have both and they are wonderful!!)
Moulin Rouge! (2001) 127 minutes
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Ewan McGregor as Christian
Nicole Kidman as Satine
1 comments:
I think I would have cried had you not reviewed my favorite movie of all time. I have fallen in love with Ewan McGregor and it's because of me that you have those two soundtracks! I would say though it has one quotable line which is said many times "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return"
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