Baz Luhrmann
Moulin Rouge!

I hate musicals. All those people who start squirming to the sound of silly little songs in the midst of the narrative is something that's irritated me countless times; it's not a judgment but a personal issue. Yet at the same time, I believe that making a musical is particularly difficult, I mean a good musical. Beyond the choreography, the singing, and all the technicalities detectable behind any type of art, it must not be that simple to avoid falling into the ridiculous or the banal. Just think of the semi-successful "Chicago" or many other flops in cinemas. Therefore, the only musicals I've managed to watch entirely with satisfaction were Bob Fosse's "Cabaret", Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark", and "Moulin Rouge!"

As the title unequivocally suggests, we are in Paris at the dawn of the 20th century. Satine (N. Kidman), a girl full of aspirations in show business, is the prima ballerina of the Moulin Rouge. All her colleagues, first among them the boss Zidler (J. Broadbent), rely on her charm to lure wealthy and powerful men to obtain various favors, especially economically. The current target is the Duke (R. Roxburgh), in love with Satine, to whom Zidler promises to arrange a meeting with the dancer. But things get complicated when a young English writer, who moved to Paris to experience the bohemian environment, named Christian (E. McGregor), meets Satine hoping with her help to stage his "Spectacular Spectacular" at the Moulin Rouge. The two fall in love, but besides the Duke, another obstacle looms: Satine is stricken with tuberculosis. After numerous misunderstandings, the love story between the young couple progresses, and the show written by Christian is realized. In the midst of the said representation, the Duke, enraged with jealousy, wants to kill the lovers but is stopped, in a twist of fate, by Zidler himself. However, as the curtain falls, Satine collapses lifeless into her beloved's arms, asking as her last wish for him to write their love story.

Once again, after "Romeo+Juliet", Baz Luhrmann returns to create a controversial work that has sparked a wide array of criticisms. Indeed, the hypertrophic mix he proposes in his films is so excessive as to divide audiences: there are those who hate it and those who are fascinated by it. While his early feature films did not always prove capable of sustaining the extravagant intentions of the Australian director, in "Moulin Rouge" the technique is by now well-honed. With the help of dazzling sets, suspended between historical reconstruction and dreamlike settings (sometimes overly contrived), the film unfolds through a well-balanced recipe of genres: melodrama, comedy, and musical. Further capturing the audience is the modernity with which the characters act, just think of the musical repertoire synthesized in the singing and dancing scenes: from "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" to "Your Song" with "Like a Virgin" and even "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

This is precisely Luhrmann's aim: to illustrate the world of the Parisian vaudeville of the early 1900s, between rivers of champagne and brazen women, but also sadness and decay. Indeed, in itself, the plot is rather simple in its synthesis. An ambitious project that could not fail to rely on a cast in excellent form. Nicole Kidman, splendid as always on all fronts, proves to be witty and frivolous yet at the same time melancholic and passionate, demonstrating once again her ability to adapt to any role offered to her. Ewan McGregor is no less and manages not to be overshadowed by his colleague's extraordinary skills, revealing himself, however, more suitable in the role of a budding artist than as a platonic lover. Both demonstrate their comprehensive acting training coupled with their talent, maintaining high standards even during the script's more challenging moments, an example of which is the singing and dancing scenes where other actors might have appeared clumsy and inadequate (Poor Nicole even fractured a rib to give her best). The attention to the supporting characters should not be overlooked: a prime example being John Leguizamo, excellent in the role of the bohemian artist echoing the famous painter Toulouse-Lautrec (In fact, he is entirely identical, including the physical deformities that characterized him) and also the entire theater company surrounding the male protagonist, clearly inspired by Fellini. Ultimately, "Moulin Rouge!" is a film that, as already mentioned, will not achieve widespread acclaim among audiences. An objective analysis shows it to be the best so far by Luhrmann and above all one of the few films where the flaws are successfully overshadowed by the excellent complexity of the work and escape the viewer's notice, dazzled by the thousand splendid lights of a decadent Paris.