Spectacular, Spectacular... Sex, Love and Rock and Roll....Under a Paris moon!

Those of you that read my reviews know my favorite subject to write about is Paris or anything to do with France for that matter.. So, why is it I've waited so long to see this movie you ask? Well, I guess the reason would be the fact that the it was released just a few weeks after my back surgery and by the time I was able to sit a few hours in a theater seat the film had disappeared from the theaters. I remember reading all about it in the entertainment magazines, the reviews here at epinions, and watching the hype on TV at the Cannes Film Festival where it made its debut to rave reviews.


I've been just itching to see this film so with it's release a short while ago, just a few weeks after my husband received a DVD player for his birthday, I was ready to enter the world of the digital movie watching public..This was the perfect movie to for that experience. Fortunately we already have a big screen TV, and surround sound audio setup, which I'm sure enhanced the experience and made it almost as good as watching it in the theater.



Where to begin?.....Well, first I have to say, I loved this movie! Not only because the setting is in Paris at the very same spot that I've visited a few times over the years, (though I haven't had the experience of actually seeing the show that is still one of the cities most popular tourists attractions), but because this was one of the most spectacular and visually stunning movies I've seen in a very long time.


Basically, this is a love story....an extravagant love story!


Christian, played by Ewan McGregor, a young writer, comes to Paris in 1899 seeking to write about love, the only problem being that he has never been in love..That is, until he meets Toulouse-Lautrec, the dwarf artist, (played so incredibly by John Leguizano, I didn't recognize him for quite a while). Toulouse , (no, he's not the love interest, but he lives above him), and when he comes crashing through the ceiling of Christian's apartment while rehearsing a play he was collaborating on with some other not so savory partners, he changes Christian's life forever.... He tells Christian about the play, asks him to participate and be the writer for the production, then introduces him to the seedy and exciting world of Moulin Rouge in it's crazy and frantic heyday.



The moment Christian sets eyes on Satine, played by Nicole Kidman, he's hooked, and the movie really begins. Satine, wants nothing more than to be a great and serious actress. That is, until she meets Christian... She, the star dancer of Moulin Rouge and a courtesan, to those that can afford her, has a deadly secret; she has tuberculosis, and though this secret is revealed to the audience early on, it is not known to those deeply involved with her.



Enter "the Duke" played by Richard Roxburgh. As lecherous as he is wealthy, "The Duke" promises to build a theater in the Moulin Rouge and finance an original musical production, when he sees Satine for the first time..as long as he can have her...Hence, the romantic triangle. It doesn't take long before the darkness of "The Duke" is set in motion by his jealousy when he witnesses and realizes the attraction between Christian and Satine, even though they try to hide it from him.



Promoting the production and promising Satine to "The Duke", in return for his money and favors, is Harold Zidler, brilliantly portrayed by Jim Broadbent , the owner and ringmaster of Moulin Rouge. He is the embodiment of decadence as he reigns over this nightly bedlam at the hottest place in the "city of lights".



The film now becomes a musical within a musical as Christian , with his friend-artist Toulouse, (who for some reason in this movie doesn't paint but is a playwright), are commissioned to create this theatrical production that "The Duke" is sponsoring.. The result is the love story that parallels the emotional triangle between Christian, Satine and "The Duke".



I must say, at this point, I was a little unsure of how I was going to like the music in this production..I had heard they used contemporary rock music instead of music of the period but, it really worked. Each song had it's place and felt as if it really belonged. Much of the credit can go to the actors who were excellent and surprising good. I never would have thought Nicole could carry it off as well as she did and the love songs were a delight....They just fit as comfortably as if they were talking instead of singing to each other. The two share a chemistry that was very evident and McGreger as a leading man has never looked better while Nicole was as beautifully stunning as she seemed vulnerable.



Besides the actors and the story, the movie is all music and dancing as it swirls, sweeps and soars across the screen in a kaleidoscope of colors and movement, sometimes it seems almost too frantic and the dance at the beginning, the "Can Can", seems almost angry with it's sheer explosive energy. I loved each number and dance sequence. I even went back to view the complete dance numbers shown on the DVD. Something I really appreciated about this DVD format.


The music is eclectic to say the least. It includes Elton Johns, "Your Song", Stings, "Roxanne", Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and, pulled from the fifties movie, "How To Marry A Millionare", "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend".... These production numbers were exciting to watch and incredibly wonderful.



Throughout the movie the city of Paris shines in a magical display. Though filmed entirely on sound stages in Australia, you just can't help but fall in love with the sweeping movement of viewing "the city of lights" at the 360 degree angles that zoom over the scenic highlights of Paris.
The romantic songs between Christian and Satine when they appear on the rooftops, the moon above and the city below were breathtaking.



The extravagant and stylistic costumes are also extremely noteworthy, so much so, that they started a trend of corset wearing brought back from that century to the trendy today.




Throughout it all , the absinthe soaked, wild, sexy, and hard core dazzling spectacle that was the Moulin Rouge of that period stars in it's own splendor. While underneath, the love story remained the center of the story until it's ultimate conclusion.



To quote Christian; " the greatest thing is to love and be loved in return" and that's the ultimate reason for the story about this nightclub where the rich and the powerful could mingle with the seedy night life of that age. It told a powerful and energetic story, a story of abandon, a story of hope and a story of love.



The movie was directed by Baz Luhrmann, an Australian with a background in opera, whose two previous films were also experiments in excess. "Strictly Ballroom" and William Shakespeare's, "Romeo and Juliet". He builds and directs Moulin Rouge with the melodrama of a 19th century opera, the Technicolor brashness of a 1950's Hollywood musical and fast paced cutting frenzy of a music video..I especially appreciated being able to watch the interviews with him and his friend-co-writer Craig Pearce on the second DVD included in this production. It brought an understanding of the film I don't think I would have had without it.

There are so many background features to watch on the DVD's that I now appreciate why the popularity of this venue for viewing movies has grown so fast and furiously. The fashions, music, interviews with the actors and production people all enhance the viewers experience and give a greater understanding of what actually went into the filming of this movie...

Enjoy, and I bet you will be hearing the music in your head as I have for the last few days...