Moulin Rouge

Like Lars von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark", Baz Luhrmann's film is an artistically daring attempt to renew the musical genre. Here too the story is flimsy and the characters one-dimensional, but you forget that when the energetic camera whirls you into the song, the dance and the colourful sets. Unlike Trier's film, Moulin Rouge goes the whole hog; it is a stunningly beautiful and lavish postmodern spectacle. The film's soundtrack consists mainly of pop and rock classics from the last twenty years. They are incorporated into the film's universe without any trouble at all.

The film is set around the turn of the century in Montmartre, where Christian, a young aspiring English writer, is plunged into the wild life surrounding the Moulin Rouge entertainment establishment. He falls in love with the venue's star, the unattainable Satine, who is pursued by a very rich duke. The duke is prepared to turn the Moulin Rouge into a real theatre and make Satine a celebrated actress, if only she will belong to him and no one else. Normally that would not be a problem, but for once Satine follows her heart, and it leads to Christian. Since the story is loosely based on "The Lady of the Camellias", however, you should not expect a rosy ending.