Part 3 in Baz
Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy, the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge! is the one that fits best in that thematic series
since that is literally what the title means in French. There are indeed a lot
of red curtains at the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris, but in Luhrmann’s version
in addition to curtains there is a giant elephant, hundreds of dancing extras,
and very anachronistic pop songs given the fact the film is set at the very
beginning of the 20th century. This Moulin Rouge with an exclamation
mark after all. The story is a tragic love story, but it is still a heck of a
show.
I will be honest,
I don’t have that vivid a memory of seeing the actual movie so much as seeing
the music video with Pink, Christina Aguilera, Lil’Kim and Mya where they all
dress in lingerie singing Lady Marmalade. I was around 15 years old at the
time, so lets just say it made quite an impression especially given what the
lyrics of that song mean. But it’s not just me; the video won a Grammy and has
gotten over 100 million views on Vevo. Of course eventually I did get to watch
the actual movie. This was during one of my last years living in Peru, so yet
occasion of watching a movie in English with Spanish subtitles. No wonder I’ve
grown multilingual over the years.
If Baz Luhrmann
had wanted to be historically authentic the movie would have been in French
making things simpler for me, but since the characters are singing excerpts
from Smells Like Teen Spirit authenticity
was clearly not on the agenda. Instead Luhrmann does what he does best, going
full spectacle telling the story of Christian (Ewan McGregor) a writer seeking
employment in the Montmarte district of Paris in the early 1900s. There he
meets historical figure Toulouse Lautrec (John Leguizamo) who welcomes the help
of a writer so he can finish his work on a show he wishes to sell to Harry
Zidler (Jim Broadbent) owner of the Moulin Rouge cabaret.
The seeds of a
doomed love story are sown during a grand musical number involving star
courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) as Zidler points her towards the venal but
rich investor Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh). Unfortunately amidst the
confusion of the music and the many dancing patrons she looks in the wrong
direction and mistakes Christian for the Duke. This leads to funny scenes as
Satine takes Christian to her room thinking he is a rich man only to quickly
backpedal once she realizes he is just a writer and the real Duke enters.
Through improvisation and more singing, Satine and Christian convince him they
were rehearsing for a show and get him to invest in turning the cabaret into a
theatre for Lautrec’s big show.
The show must
indeed go on, but of course there are many complications chief of which is Christian’s
attraction for Satine and her desire to be more than a courtesan. The Duke suspects
this and will have none of it, wanting Satine all for himself even if it means having
Christian killed. There is no place for love in this cabaret, as underlined
during the number El Tango de Roxanne.
Luhrmann had
dealt with forbidden love in theatrical form before with Romeo + Juliet, however here everything from the costumes to the
performances are a lot more showy despite the predictably dour ending. McGregor
and Kidman work great as doomed lovers, Jim Broadbent is surprisingly energetic
as Zidler during the Because We Can number,
and the production design gives you something gorgeous to look at from the
first to the last frame.
Then of course
you have that soundtrack. In addition to that Lady Marmalade cover, the album
is filled with a diverse roster of artists that includes David Bowie, Bono, Fatboy
Slim, and some of the actors who quite successfully do their own singing. The
story of Moulin Rouge! might a tad
melodramatic, but nobody can accuse Baz Luhrmann of not being able to put on a
fantastic show with great music.
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