Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann

A fantastic blend of antiquity and futuristic surrealism. Walking out of my small town film theatre I sensed disorientation amongst the audience as if they had been wrenched from their comfortable homes and forced through some kind of a funky tasting, trumpet blowing time warp. They weren‚t sure what to think. Here was a Hollywood film presented by All American Voice-Over Man as a big hit, starring Star-Wars Ewan McGregor and the glamorous Nicole Kidman. They found themselves laughing at the down-to-earth but fast-paced humour before they even realised it wasn‚t their sort of thing at all.

I thought it was fabulous. So much of contemporary popular culture is now becoming self-conscious of its historical context, interpreting its message in a futuristic guise, and having a hearty old laugh. This was a movie set in turn-of-the-century Paris, among the grimiest streets, home to the Bohemian avant garde, transforming the likes of Toulouse Loutrec and his seedy bunch of miscreant friends into heroes within the folds of this multi-layered visual story. Then these unlikely characters danced around in a hallucinatory fashion, as part of a 50‚s musical, but irrepressibly visually 2001. The sound-track was entirely made of popular songs.

Digital enhancement was used to stunningly almost ordinary effect by creating an entire unworldly setting where the audience can readily suspend their disbelief. This was a world where it was easy to believe that Kyle Minogue is the Absinthe Fairy, and might shoot out of your bottle and sing a sexy little ditty at any time. Sound was also engineered to its utmost effect, with cartoon-like noises punctuating movements which, by some act of wizadry remained tasteful and consistent.

In one comical scene, the would-be-actors of the story improvise the outline of a play to their smarmy patron, the Duke. I felt that the same thing was going on between us, the audience and the director of the film. We were dared to be charmed by irresistible nonsense. The film was playing to an imaginary Bourgeois audience. Or was it really imaginary? Prostitutes of the Moulin Rouge danced the Can-Can to the R&B version Voulez-Vous-Couchez-Avec-Moi, a debatably squirmworthy experience. It was about challenging the modern-day equivalent of the Bourgeoisie (which is open to interpretation), stirring up the hum drum and turning it on its head, saying that amongst the hype and madness of the modern world, still the only really important thing in life is love. Makes perfect sense really when you think about it.

---

Leave a comment

name
email (if you want to be notified)
<-- Please retype the word you see here:
Notify me when someone replies to this post?

---