Moulin Rouge

Sometimes there are movies that everybody's seen. And so you tell yourself that you'll watch it when you get around to it. After a while, everybody assumes you've seen it.

And then you finally see it, and you wonder how you have missed out in something this amazing for this long. (Of course, you then have to hide your excitement, because everybody was excited about this 10 years ago or so).

I finally watched Moulin Rouge.

I watched it as a post-finals treat to myself, and can't believe that it took me that long. Paris in the turn-of-the-century. Unabashedly Romantic, but playfully anachronistic characters. Star-crossed love storyline. Ewan McGregor. Nicole Kidman. Gorgeous period dress. The "theater-as-the-world" setting. Musicals. Opera-inspired plot line. Beauty, freedom, truth, and love. Basically, if you were to combine all the elements of my favorite movies into one, I think the end product might be something like Moulin Rouge. 

I love that the plot is inspired by three operas, "La Traviata", "La Boheme" and "Orpheus" (at least, some general amalgamation of the myth). That said, I get some pretty strong "Tristan und Isolde" vibes from the star-crossed love triangle aspect of the story. I don't think it's particularly intentional, and more that Tristan and Isolde are the trope setter for this type of plot line. That said, Baz Luhrman used the Liberstod in the soundtrack for the final scene of Romeo + Juliet, so I'd like to think he wasn't unaware that there were broad parallels. 

Christian is a much better reimagining of Rodelfo's character in "La Boheme" than Roger is in "Rent." Rodelfo is supposed to be this young, idealistic poet who falls in love with a seamstress. His innocence is part of the tragedy, and Moulin Rouge gets that perfectly. On the other hand, Roger is a jaded, angry musician living in a loft, and it really changes the story when the Rodelfo character starts off jaded and angry. Of course, Satine is pretty much spot-on as Violetta, rather than Mimi. (I read somewhere that her red dress was actually inspired by early versions of Violetta's costume). I pretty much described the movie to my friend as the lead male from "La Boheme" falling in love with the lead female from "La Traviata" in an Orpheus-inspired underworld setting. 

Also, I know "Come What May" is supposed to be their secret song, but of all of their "songs", it's my least favorite. "Your Song" is by far my favorite. It's sweet and over-the-top in all the right ways, and the moment where Placido Domingo (!) starts harmonizing as the Man in the Moon is just great.

I think this is going to be one of my favorite movies from here on out.