A invitation for dream awake.
 May 28th, 2003
Advantages:
All the film .
Disadvantages:
At the beginning of the movie they say to you something that they might not reveal .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Characters / Performances
Soundtrack
How does it compare to similar films?
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  Javi
About me:
I will write little because I am late many hours in to translate my Ciao Spain opinions in order tha...
Member since:22.06.2002
Reviews:1
Members who trust:2
Review rated by 13 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
This is a special movie. And is special among other things because, if for analyse it you think about all the elements that normally we assume to a good movie, probably one of few ones that we find is that of good interpretations, indispensably in order that this novel way of doing cinema triumphs. The innovation is the flag of one movie that, if one does not forget all your concepts that you think about for valuing a film, will finish hating it. Year ago and a half that I entered without conviction any and almost dragged to the cinema to seeing this movie. The words "movie" and "musical" associated were provoking that the idea of entering to the cinema I did not like. But when I went out of the cinema I had the sensation of having seen one of the movies that more I have liked in my life. Radical contrast, truth? I can not say that Moulin Rouge is not what seems, because evidently it is a musical film, whose story develops at the end of the 19th century and to the doors of the 20th century in one of the brothels disguised as cabaret more famous of the world as the Moulin Rouge.
The beginning of the movie looked like to me an authentic madness without any coherence. But, after the first impression, it liked to me little by little and finished catching me completely up to getting in its interior. Another day I turned to see in my house it. And I like it very much equally, but I saw it from another perspective, because knowing the characters you see details that the first time is possible that you do not observe. The beginning was equal of crazy as for rapidity of images and dialogues, but I saw this time the coherence that I thought the first time that did not have. In it introduce us to the story of vibrant form with constant sudden movements of camera in the sequences that parade before our eyes. We know Christian, a writer who in spite of the advices of his father chooses to move to the Montmartre's Parisian neighborhood where it expects to inspire him with the Bohemian spirit and to triumph as writer. Once installed in Montmartre, everything begins to develop quickly when an Argentinian appears fallen of the roof of Christian's flat. And for the door an intoxicated dwarf, Touluse-Lautrec, will appear looking for his Argentine friend with two more persons enough peculiar. This way of extravagant it will happen the first meeting of our starring with the Bohemians, that they will tell him that they are preparing the musical one that will be named "Spectacular, spectacular", that will try to recreate the spirit and the ideal of the Bohemian life: truth, freedom, beauty and love. But as any spectacle that tries to transmit a message it needs a stage to be interpreted and that comes to the public, this one wants to be sold Harold Zidler, who manages the Moulin Rouge.
Christian observes a fragment of the interpretation of the play and soon he contributes new ideas to the script, which they will make fascinated Touluse-Lautrec and the rest of the Bohemians, except Audrey, the writer of the play, which does not want another writer in the development of the script and decides to leave the project. But Audrey's abandon will not be a complication because Christian has much more talent. So they prepare a "chance" meeting between Christian and the only person who can sell to Zidler the project: Satine, the great star of the Moulin Rouge. With luck they achieve that the inaccessible Satine confuses Christian with the Duke of Worcester, to which she has to satisfy his sexual needs in order that he invests in the Moulin Rouge and turns the cabaret into a theatre. Therefore, the sparkling diamond, since they nickname Satine, leads Christian to "sign" the deal based on sex, but he, still enough ingenuously and without experience in what it is the life inside a cabaret of the epoch, comes believing that she what wants is to listen to him to interpret part of the spectacle that he has to present to see if it likes to her.
Now we should know the personality of the main characters, to understand better their behavior in the first minutes of the movie, which will change as the events are happening. Christian is an innocent boy who comes with a lot of illusions to Montmartre's neighborhood and who will see situations of the life more realists that those that he writes in his verses. In spite of it, he will not give up itself in his determination to change the established rules. And Satine? Satine is a cabaret dancer that exercises the prostitution in the Moulin Rouge, from which Harold Zidler has wrested the autoesteem. Just there matter for her the money, the fame and the power. But she has a dream: to be an authentic actress of theatre. This is due to the fact that, though it looks like the opposite thing, the life that goes seems to be to her detestable and wants to leave it. As she says in a song, she wants to fly away some day. And said this, we return where we had left Satine and Christian, where after many misunderstandings, Christian sings a song to Satine of which they would be included in the spectacle to convince her that this one is really good. This song is "Your Song". In it he says to her that the life is wonderful now that she is in the world. And with this song she begins to fall in love of Christian. But when he says to her that he is not a duke, that he is a writer discovered by Touluse, she puts again a barrier between them. Barrier that will not be late in to break Christian, with a fantastic medley of songs of love a few scenes later.
Ewan McGregor gives the whole necessary credibility to Christian in order that this one provokes in the spectator a sensation towards him of tenderness and sharm, as well as complicity. He gathers the whole initial naiveté of the writer, and besides when he looks to Satine at the beginning of the movie, he reflects in his eyes and in the expression of his face admiration for she, which is converted afterwards into sincere love. This is not easy, since Ewan does not limit himself to looking with nice smile to the girl. He completes this with the sincerity of his look when he speaks. Besides, his stammerings when Christian is nervous or his voice faltering by the anger and dejection that experiments on a moment of the movie that I am not going to reveal, they do that there are no failures in the role. Besides Ewan it surprises with a good voice in songs of different styles that he has to interpret. I am sure that someone thinks that it is not a role to shine as cinematographic star. But probably is when you return to see the movie when you realize certain details at that I have aimed and of others all those. These details make see the value of the actor in this successful product of 20th. Century Fox. And she? Undoubtedly Nicole enjoys the beginning of century of the best interpretive period of her career, with the filming movie like "The others" of Alejandro Amenábar, "The hours" of Stephen Daldry or this Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge". But centring on her role of Satine, in the first moment we will see her superficial and stupid side but, after listening to the song of "Your song" that Christian sings to her, we can see a nice side of her personality. From this moment one will see between the business and her career as actress on the one hand, and the love that offers her the writer newcomer to Montmartre for other one. Her voice in the interpretation is correct enough, and in the songs sweetly in general in those of love, and slightly more energetic without excesses in the others songs in other circumstances. In the final moments of the movie with a voice full of feeling, totally in keeping with the moment in which the song is produced. As for the choreographies in which Nicole takes part during the movie, she is not a great ballerina but she does it well.
But not only Ewan and Nicole do a good work, since the rest of actors also do it to great level, everyone in his role, with differentiated characteristics that can take form to the perfection. For example if we speak about Richard Roxburgh, who interprets the Duke of Worcester we can to say that he has could give to his role surely what was searching the director of the same one. Comes a moment which you understand his reactions and behavior provokes in the spectator more a pitiful than a feeling rejection. He is a personage absolutly upset by the pathological jealousies who suffers, though it is necessary to admit that it is not any angel and that also he is malicious and very ambitious, and that to obtain it uses perverse methods if it is necessary. Jim Broadbent plays the role of Harold Zidler, regent of the Moulin. He is a person who has a motto: "the show must go on" and undoubtedly this motto marks his way of life and of think. Is like a father for Satine, a bad father but a father that loves her daughter, and at the moment of the truth he demonstrates it. The role that recovers Jim in the movie is, together with that of the duke and the Bohemians, the most excessive. But the director knows very well what he tries to provoke with his story, and any exaggeration is for his orders.
They complete the characters principally the personnel and clientele of the Moulin and the Bohemians led by Touluse-Lautrec, person who really existed in the Paris and who was a painter, lithographer and designer who recreated faithfully the places of the style of the Moulin Rouge, of which he was one of the habitual visitors. John Leguizamo, had to interpret an important part of the filming knee due to the Touluse's low stature. Touluse is an alcoholized personage of lamentable aspect, but in spite of that really he is like that, has much more that to contribute in the movie and demonstrates it along it, in his moments of brilliancy in which there is verified that he can observe what happens around it. Of the ballerinas Nini is the one that has a Satine's bigger envy and demonstrates it at all time, trying that the star of the cabaret goes out damaged in more than one occasion. Between the dancers Chocolat he is a faithful protective dancer of Satine, and between the charwomen she sits predilection for Marie who is to that bigger fondness has. Another great obstacle to overcoming will be Warner, the bloodthirsty servant of the duke. These and many more characters will obstruct or help the protagonists in the way towards their happiness together, that will meet threatened during the whole story and that they two, overcoat Christian, will defend along the same one with diverse mottoes since "come what may", or "the greatest thing, you'll ever learn, it's just to love, and be love in return". These they will be their instructions to continuing if they want to win in their struggle towards a happiness in common.
And most of one will say that the script is very simple. The truth is that the script is not a wonder, but it does not also have pretensions to it be, for what it is not a point in against for the same one. A great argument can thrill, and though this movie does not have, it has thrilled to important part of the people who has seen her. But because its secret does not reside in the argument, it resides in everything what surrounds the same one: the interpretations, the songs, the characteristics of the characters... Undoubtedly another Luhrmann's wisdom is Marius DeVries election as the musical director of the movie. His B.S.O. to my dealing is the best of the year with difference. In a musical in the Paris of end of the 19th century and beginnings of the 20th century, the fact turns out to be rare to listen to artists' current songs as Christina Aguilera, Pink, Fatboy Slim or Bono. But never they give sensation of messing up the story, with good choice at all time of the type of music necessary for every scene. Songs stand out since "Because we can", "Lady Marmalade", "Sparkling diamonds" or "Children of the revolution" and interpreters as Bono, David Bowie, Christina Aguilera, Fatboy Slim, Beck, Pink or Massive Attack. But I would indicate three songs for its importance in the development of the story. They are "Your song" interpreted by Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina and both singing for Ewan and Nicole: "Come what may" and "Elephant love medley".
Certainly there will have many people to whom the movie looks like even a hoax, and the truth, I do not reproach them anything for it, since the tastes of the persons are very changed and it is something to being grateful, but probably in my opinion, these persons have not left his concept of good movie out of the cinema when they have prepared to see it. My only advice in the matter is seeing before thinking, and from there, any opinion to favor or in against will be completely valid. A movie that probably does not go on to the history of the cinema for being the musical one with touches of extravagancy without a script of which they mark epoch, though certainly it will be a movie that I will remember always, a movie that, in my opinion, it invites to dream awake.
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21.09.2003 14:40
hombre!, otro de España! que tal!
01.06.2003 19:02
One of my favourite films...
30.05.2003 10:43
Brill first op! I have not seen this film because it did seem rather dull when it was out in the cinema! Great op! Shellie XxX