Moulin Rouge (Moulin Rouge! (DVD))

Member Name: linzeelou

Product:	Moulin Rouge! (DVD)
Date:	08/11/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful story and soundtrack

Disadvantages: Not a lot

Moulin Rouge is a 2001 musical film that was directed/ produced and written by Baz Luhrmann. The film is rated 12 due to one use of language, some moderate references to sex and mild violence and it is 122 minutes long. With a budget of $52,500,000, Moulin Rouge went on to make nearly $180 million worldwide.

Plot
It is 1899 and Christian moves to Paris in the Montmartre district with not much else but his typewriter. Christian meets a musical group lead by Toulouse who is trying to get noticed by writing a play for the owner of cabaret club, the Moulin Rouge. When Toulouse realises Christian's talent, he soon gets him on board to finished writing 'Spectacular Spectacular'. Christian must meet with a courtesan, Satine, the star of the Moulin Rouge in private to pitch his idea in private.

On the same night, Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge, has also arranged for Satine to meet with the wealthy Duke of Monroth in order to try and get financial backing to make the Moulin Rouge into a real theatre. Christian goes to meet Satine, unknowingly that she thinks he is the Duke. When the real Duke comes to see her, Christian, Satine, Zidler and the musical group must improvise by showing the Duke their ideas for Spectacular Spectacular.

From their very first meeting, Christian and Satine have a connection but the Duke is also interested in her. As the weeks go on, Christian and Satine grow closer and must try and hide their love from the Duke who gets extremely jealous. Satine has to decide which man to give her love to but love is never easy.

Cast
Ewan McGregor - Christian
Nicole Kidman - Satine
John Leguizamo - Toulouse-Lautrec
Jim Broadbent - Harold Zidler
Richard Roxburgh - The Duke of Monroth
Jacek Koman - The Narcoleptic Argentinean
Kylie Minogue - The Green Fairy
Garry McDonald - The Doctor
Natalie Mendoza - China Doll
David Wenham - Audrey
Caroline O'Connor - Nini Legs-in-the-Air
Kiruna Stamell - La Petite Princesse

My Opinion
What I absolutely love about this film is firstly that it is a musical and secondly that it is about a musical. I have never seem something so original and intricate as this film. What amazed me about the plot was that both the actual film and Spectacular Spectacular both have the same story line and the manage to run together at the same time. Musical genius.

I'm not normally a big fan of Nicole Kidman but I loved her in this film. I thought she brought something truly magical to Satine's character and considering the theatricalness about the film, she managed to make her seem very real. This role was really made for Kidman who gives her character emotion and charm but at the same time, manages to make the audience feel sorry for her. There are times where Satine seems to change her personality so quickly that if you don't pay attention, you could miss something really important.

I'm not even a really big fan of Ewan McGregor either so god knows what made me watch this film. Luckily, I was extremely surprised by the two main characters. McGregor plays the sweet and caring Christian who instantly falls in love with Satine. I felt really sorry for him for a lot of the film but for me that was a good thing. Christian could be really serious at times but through every moment, you could tell how much he loves Satine and would do anything for her and all I wanted was for the pair to be happy.

I was slightly sceptical at first about the soundtrack to this film. I had no clue about the songs and I also didn't know if either Kidman or McGregor could actually sing. I was actually quite surprised that singers weren't cast instead of these two. Thank god they were both fantastic and both sing with their own voices instead of being made better in a studio. I loved most of the songs in the film, and seeing some famous ones covered was really interesting. The only song I completely hated was Roxanne which didn't seem fitting at all.

The sets and the costumes are both something which really make this film special. Little details are paid attention to and you can tell how much effort has been put in. Some of the scenes are dirty and gritty but in a huge contrast we then get the Moulin Rouge which is filled with glamour and sparkle. The colour used throughout makes the film vibrant and fun and takes away a little bit of the sadness which is a big part of the story.

I love this film, despite thinking I would hate it. One of my favourite musicals and I would recommend it to everyone.

Summary: Great film