Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Review
Actually watched this last night. It was probably the 8th time I've seen this. Yes, it's that good. I admit it's hard for me to be completely objective about Moulin Rouge! because it has a significant sentimental weight in my life. But I shall try.

If you haven't seen the movie, the review I linked to is pretty accurate. Ebert's only problem with it seems to be that it left him feeling claustrophobic. I've never noticed that feeling. The story is of True Love that ends tragically. Set in late 19th-century Paris, the movie uses the music of the late 20th century to tell the story and express the feelings of the characters. And that's what sets the film apart for me - the clever and gorgeous use of music.

Allow me to enumerate the points in Moulin Rouge! at which I, as if on cue, start swallowing hard and claiming the room is getting dusty:

• Christian (Ewan McGregor) busts out with "The hills are alive with the sound of muuuuuuuuusic". This is the first hint that the lingua franca of this film is going to be song.
  
• Satine (Nicole Kidman) singing the harmony on "Heroes" during the scene where they dance on the elephant.
  
• Satine soaring into the chorus of "One Day I'll Fly Away".
  
• Last and certainly not least, the final operatic version of "Come What May". Is it dusty in here? *sniff*
  

Other moments of note are the "Like a Virgin" sequence with Zidler (Jim Broadbent) and The Duke (Richard Roxburgh) (hilarious) and the "Roxanne" tango sequence (gripping, dark).

I don't think Baz Luhrmann is the greatest filmmaker... not by a long shot. But he somehow created one of the finest works of art in any medium from any time. IMHO.

(out of 5)