Sai and Shujath talk Cinema

I was quite impressed by Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and so the very next movie I rented was this much acclaimed musical. I have never ventured out to watch a Hollywood musical because I could never imagine I might appreciate something like that. But I had to give in this time and wasn’t disappointed at all.

It’s actually quite hard to write about a movie like this where the visuals, artwork and the music dominate every single frame. The result is a truly dazzling extravangza which in fact should appeal quite well to someone who has grown up on Bollywood films. Wikipedia actually states that Luhrmann got inspired to make this film after watching Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.

Moulin Rouge! is set in Paris and it showcases the so called “Bohemian” culture. It represents the non-traditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities. The bohemian lifestyle is often associated with cafés, coffeehouses, drug use (particularly opium), alcoholism, and absinthe. Bohemians were associated with unorthodox or antiestablishment political or social viewpoints, which were expressed through extramarital sexual relations and voluntary poverty (source: Wikipedia).

Set in this context, this film tells the story of struggling writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with a famous courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). Satine works for Zidler (Jim Broadbent) who manages the cabaret in which she is the lead. Now, there is a certain Duke (Richard Roxburgh) who wants to invest in that place (and their theatrical work) provided he gets access to Satine. The Duke then happens to catch Satine and Christan in a compromising position but they somehow fool the duke by claiming to be reharsing for a play. Christian makes up this “Indian” play with references to the Duke, Satine and his own characters. As the date of the play comes closer, the Duke figures out the relationship between Christian and Satine and wants to get rid of Christian. Meanwhile, it is also revealed that Satine is suffering from a terminal disease.

The basic plot actually resembles a lot of Indian films where a poor guy and a wannabe rich girl romance right under the nose of the girl’s wealthy fiance and when her love is in danger she has to make a choice between the two men. Most of the movie runs in a musical format with lots of songs - many of them are recycled tunes of various artistes. There are also some elaborately staged dance sequences set to some really pumped up music. What I liked most was the last 20 minutes of the movie leading to the climax.

Luhrmann once again shows his mastery over visuals and music. You really forget about the actual plot sometimes which you watch this. This movie actually reminded me of Shakespeare in Love which had a similar narrative but apart from that they are as different as chalk and cheese. There are good performances from the cast especially Nicole Kidman. If you have never seen a Hollywood musical I suggest you watch this one. I wouldn’t call it great cinema but nevertheless its look and sound were enough to make me love it.