"THE BUZZ STARTS HERE"
page two of an essay aabout the film "Moulin Rouge"
by Michael F. Nyiri
"First Impressions behind the Red Velvet Curtain of the 'Moulin Rouge'"
When the film was released,
There was a lot written about Luhrmann's "reworking" of the
musical form, and whether what he did with the music in "Moulin Rouge"
was artistic, relevant, or absurd. I can remember seeing the preview for
the first time. What seemed absurd, of course, is seeing images which
were from 1900 Paris, and hearing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"
and the Police's "Roxanne" on the soundtrack. This is the best
example I can think of where the sounds and images in the preview, designed
to promote the movie and get people in the theater, could be totally taken
out of context, and cast a negative light on the movie itself before it
opens. After seeing the film, the musical choices make perfect sense.
My first impression of the film, one I already wanted to see, was negative
because of this and the many articles decrying the practice of using modern
songs in a period setting. The only thing seemingly "revolutionary"
about the music in "Moulin Rouge" is that the songs are already
cultural references, and when they are heard in the preview, out of context,
they make no sense. "Roxanne", particularly, which was a big
hit not too long ago.
The already forgotten "Knight's Tale" came out a few weeks before
"Rouge", and since critics see so many movies,and it was still
in their consciousness, they compared both and wrote about the habit of
"using modern songs in period movies". In "Knight"
this was a bad idea. In "Moulin Rouge" it is inspired and inspiring.
"Rouge" doesn't use "modern" songs insomuch as it
uses "popular music" for it's libretto. This is a convention
as old as movie musicals. The entire movie title "Singing in the
Rain" as anybody who's ever seen "That's Entertainment"
can tell you, was used not only in MGM's oscar winning "Broadway
Melody" in 1930 but in other MGM musicals for years before it became
the title of a movie. In modern times, movie titles borrow popular song
titles, and movies, songs, and music have always been intertwined. When
"radio" was the "television" of the day, popular music
often originated with the movies. Using "Roxanne" or "Your
Song" in "Rouge" is brilliant. The reference of the already
known song, when inserted into an already touching scene, enhances the
emotion and the overall effect to the audience. Music, the "universal
language", the "soundtrack for our lives" is used in an
artistic way to define, enhance, and advance the action.
I saw the film the weekend it opened, and it immediately became my choice
for Best Picture, and I thought Luhrmann was a genius. I couldn't understand
why critics were saying "You'll either love it or hate it",
unless they were the type who didn't like musicals in the first place,
and even then I just don't see how they couldn't be moved.
Obviously I loved it. Normally, I don't like the rampant overuse of the
tricks editors do with the Avid editor. The bag of tricks, when used heavily
seems like the digital equivalent of flash and sizzle instead of substance
and steak. "Rouge" employs the whole bag, and this was poised
to bother me. All the normally cringe-inducing digital special effects,
and CGI model shots, when used, and they are used heavily, not only belong
in "Moulin Rouge" but the movie couldn't have been made without
them. I always predict that computing power and digital imaging will someday
allow all creative types the means by which to create movies, and Baz
Luhrmann has, I believe, with this film, given us a benchmark for a new
digitally created artform. The production design alone is worth the price
of admission. Even the critics who didn't want to understand the film,
or just didn't like musicals praised the production design. Costumes,
editing, the psychedelic world of Paris at the turn of the last century
is perfectly, stylistically and artistically portrayed.
The movie is a trip.
I never hesitate to bring up my drug-addled youth, and the psychedelic
atmosphere (thematically represented by the character's use of absinthe
and opium) is perfection as well, reminding me of all the positive colorful
acid trips I've taken. Luhrmann has said (the DVD tells the viewer "everything
you ever wanted to know" about the creation of the film) that the
kinetic energy permeating the proceedings, and the manic way in which
the film is cut, serve to propel the viewer into the nightclub itself.
This is astoundingly well done, but the effect makes some of the subtler
points get lost in the explosion of artistic creativity behind the red
velvet curtain.
It moved too fast in the theater, but it's out again, and after watching
the DVD, I'm ready to go back and visit it on the big screen. The DVD
is probably the best ever mastered, and is sure to be a hit, and a classic,
but you owe it to yourself to see this on a sixty foot screen. And you
owe it to yourself to see it at LEAST twice.
"The Second Time Around"
I always intended the ElectricMovies site to include
a second time around section, where I would revisit a given reviewed film
and talk about my second impression. A great film only gets better. I
can still watch "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz",
"Titanic", or "Pinnochio" and gain new insights each
time. I usually catch each of the above mentioned films at least once
a year on my home theater. When "Citizen Kane" was released
earlier this year, the transfer was so much better than all the other
versions I have that it was almost like seeing the film again for the
first time. My roommate doesn't understand my love of movies, and the
simple pleasure which repeat viewings accord me. It was while watching
"Moulin Rouge" at home, with the lights out, the DTS surround
playing at fairly high levels, and the monitor tweaked further by using
the THX certified tests included on the DVD, that I finalized my opinon
that not only is this movie 2001's best, but a movie for the ages, sure
to be written about by more astute critics than myself for years to come.
I knew the film was vibrant and kinetic: on second viewing I really got
to know the characters, and sunk head first into the story, and the symbolism.
Baz Luhrmann talks at length about the symbolism, and the design of "Moulin
Rouge". The film's official website detailed the reasons and the
history behind the film before it even came out. Even if the viewer doesn't
know who Orpheus is, or why the "bohos" in the movie seem as
if they could have sprung from the bohemian late sixties as easy as from
Paris in 1900, the use of symbolism, recurring motifs, and the pure language
of film, and the musical film in particular, enhance the movie as a whole.
As I said, this is a multilayered film. The flash and fizz are the eye
candy. The deeper one goes, the more times one sees the film, the more
immersed he is in the plight of the human condition.
"Plot and Characterization"
The plot is deceivingly simple, yet incredibly
complex beneath the surface. To sum up, since I never like to discuss
plot anyway for fear of ruining an "audience moment", (Some
of the more salient points are brought up in the musical number "Come
What May" playing in the background of this page.) "Moulin Rouge"
is a musical, and plots for musicals are by nature fairly simple. It is
a story about love, and a celebration of the concepts so eloquently outlined
by John Keats in the poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn". "Beauty
is truth, truth beauty, That is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need
to know."
The first character we meet is Toulouse Latrec (appropriately), who sings
the first lines of the libretto introducing Christian, the main character.
John Lequizamo plays Latrec. Ewan McGregor, better than he's ever been
on film, is Christian, who is introduced a broken man, still grieving
over the loss of his great love, Satine (Nicole Kidman). He is attempting
to write the story we are about to see, and as he types on his vintage
Underwood, we are transported back to Paris at the turn of the century,
when he arrives, "a penniless poet", in search of truth, beauty,
freedom, and love. He takes a room across from the "Moulin Rouge",
the most celebrated nightclub of the time. He meets Latrec, who is rehearsing
a play on the floor above his, when the lead actor in the play, a narcoleptic
Argentinian, falls through the floor into his room. He steps in for the
Argentinian, and astounds Latrec and his group of bohemian artists, by
giving musical voice to the play, singing "The Sound of Music".
In no time at all, he is an integral member of the "Bohos".
He visits the "Rouge", run in full music hall bombast by Zidler,
played by Jim Broadbent ("Topsy-Turvey"). He is stricken by
Satine, a celebrated chanteuse and courtesan, at first sight, as she descends
into the auditorium on a trapeze singing "Diamonds Are A Girls Best
Friend". He meets Satine when he is mistaken for the Duke (Richard
Roxburg), who is about to bankroll an important show, falls in love, is
found out (but not before Satine falls in love with him) and is ultimately
given the job of writing the musical in which Satine will make her "legitimate"
debut.
As the show, the spectacular "Spectacular Spectacular" proceeds
through writing and rehearsals, the lovers attempt, with varying degrees
of success, to hide the affair. (Again, the song playing in the background
details the story.) As the show's opening night approaches, Satine banishes
Christian from attending, warning him that the Duke has threatened him
with death. The show must go on, however, and Christian risks his life
to settle his differences with Satine.
I mentioned that the film begins with Christian mourning the loss of his
love. That's all I will say about plot here.
Suffice it to say, that as with all musicals, the production numbers advance
and comment upon the plot. That these songs are woven from recent musical
history makes the accomplishment even more astounding.
"The Major Themes"
Let's start with "Truth, Beauty, Freedom,
and LOVE". These words comprise the clarion call of bohemian society,
given voice by John Leguizmo as Toulouse Latrec (the celebrated painter
who is the subject of John Huston's "Moulin Rouge", a fantastic
film in it's own right.) We don't see the tortured Latrec of Huston's
film. His legs are still cut off at the knee, but he embodies the spirit
of "BOHO" and leads the group of artists and creative types
who frequent the "Rouge".
TRUTH is what exists. Even though the characters may be having a good
time, their eyes are open to the ills and pitfalls of society. If a person
is true, no matter what his beliefs or actions, he is redeemed.
BEAUTY is to be prized above all. The world is a beautiful mess, and you
have to stop and marvel at the small detailed things in order to appreciate
the major chords of life. (That last phrase borrowed from "New York,
New York", by the way.) As the film is all glitz and pizzaz on the
outside, it really deals with hard truths and wondrous beauty.
FREEDOM is what mankind strives for. Freedom of expression, and the freedom
to exhibit it. "Moulin Rouge" is a valentine to this expression.
The film doesn't settle for the mainstream. Luhrmann is not afraid to
indulge his every whim, and it shows on screen.
LOVE is what the film, and basically, what life are all about.
Critics have mentioned that the plot is thin, almost nonexistant. To the
contrary, the plot is one of those "universals", such as Shakespeare
used in his plays, a love triangle, a tragic character, a villian, redemption
and renewal. The plot exists as a sounding board for the themes, not only
those listed above, but the ultimate thematic conclusion that "love
conquers all". I know that's a cliche, but when confronted with a
film like this, which liberally uses all the cliches in the book, it is
wise to understand that the use of timeworn material, instantly memorable
popular music, and all kinds of cultural/historical references serves
to comment on the human condition. This theme might even seem like a cliche,
but as presented, the viewer is bombarded with emotion and imagery, memory
and illusion, and when the action stops for a "profound moment"
as in the celebrated "Elephant Scene" (Chapter 13 on the DVD,
where Satine sings "Someday I'll Fly Away") the audience cannot
help but feel the emotion collectively. This is another fine reason to
catch "Rouge" in a theater, if you can, because there is still
nothing akin to enjoying the collective experience of humanity feeling
the same emotions and reacting to them in a darkened theater.
"A Short History of Film"
As soon as the "red velvet curtain" parts,
and the conductor frantically leads the orchestra in the first strains
of the Twentieth Century Fox logo, you know you are in for a treat unlike
anything you have seen before. On the DVD, two separate sections explain
the conception and execution of the ample effects needed to "introduce"
us to the movie, the period ("Paris, 1900" on title card), the
denizens, and the character of Christian. From this wonderfully expressive
opening salvo, to the whirling fantasmagoria of the film itself, to the
sad but ultimately satisfying ending, Luhrmann is inviting us on a journey
through the cultural history of film itself.
Each scene transition, the use of color (or lack of it), the indoor sets,
and not coincidentally the blazing artifice of the whole endeavor itself
serves as a microcosm of the complete theatrical and filmic process. This
is a vast subject which lends itself to another essay, but I wish to outline
a few of the more important instances.
Most importantly, we have the "play within a play" device, and
the use of mistaken identity, frequently used by Shakespeare in the comedies.
The "play within a play" device alludes as well to the backstage
musicals of the thirties, specifically the Busby Berkeley musicals for
Warners. Luhrmann even shoots a few of Berkeley's signature "kaliedoscope
shots" for good measure.
Characters in the play within a play comment on the real characters. Music
drives the plot, and brings an emotional punch to the themes. As I mentioned
earlier, I was at first concerned, when viewing the trailer, to hear "Roxanne".
But talem in context, the actual number "Le Tango de Roxanne"
(Chapter 23n on the DVD) is one of the most critical and imaginative in
the film.
As I remember stating in my review after seeing the film in the theater
when it opened, the audience with me actually applauded after the "Like
a Virgin" number (Chapter 19). Music, and the sadly neglected American
Musical Film fulfills a basic need for humanity, and audiences will applaud
ecstatically when moved. I think the time has come, and "Moulin Rouge"
is the standard bearer for the movement, for musicals to return in full
force to the screen.
The first song the audience hears, by the way, over the credits, are the
opening strains of Robert Wise's oscar winning 1965 musical "The
Sound of Music". I think this tips us off to the homage/revival/deeply
moving musical experience on which we are about to embark.
The story is told in flashback, another theatrical and filmic "device",
which affords the ending additional power as Christian is redeemed. (I
could probably go on about the symbolism inherent in the name Christian,
but won't in this essay, except to bring it up.)
Baz Luhrmann himself supplies the commentary, along with assorted members
of the production. I haven't heard all the commentary tracks, since I
began this project immediately after viewing the DVD, but there are two
individual tracks, detailing the writing process, and production design.
A second disc analyzes almost everything else about the production.
This film deserves the Best Picture this year like no other.
The DVD received an award for DVD of the year even before it was released.
It certainly is the most comprehensive DVD the medium has to offer so
far, and it surpasses every laserdisc I have as well, including the Criterion
titles.
"A Final Musical 'Note'."
See "Moulin Rouge", hopefully in a theater,
with an audience.
BUY, do not rent, the DVD.
See "Moulin Rouge" again.
Tell everyone you know about this website, and even if they don't read
my lengthy commentary, at least tell them to sign in to the AllThingsMike
Discussion Boards under the "Movie Reviews" section and tell
me about what they think of this great work of art.
I want to spread the word. An Internet search for "Moulin Rouge"
turned up precious few fansites, and I will start to "recruit"
acolytes to the power of this film on those sites. Hopefully the word
will spread. I KNOW this is the Best Picture. Last year, I didn't make
the call, but the Academy was wrong, I wasn't. "Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon" was the best film last year, not "Gladiator".
I've picked the winner repeatedly since 1992. (In 1991 I chose "Beauty
and the Beast" over "Silence of the Lambs") Last year was
a fluke. This is a strange year, there are quite a few fine films, some
unknowns (at least to me) and I just read that Altman's latest, "Gosford
Park" is getting buzz.
But the Buzz starts here, folks.
Behind the Red Velvet Curtain,
At the "Moulin Rouge"
essay/review copyright 2001 Michael F. Nyiri
The Small Print The "Moulin Rouge" website is a feature of the DVD section of ElectricMovies, part of the AllThingsMike webhub. "Moulin Rouge" is a 20th Century Fox film, and all the images used on the site, including those used in the composites are copyrighted by the Fox company and it's affiliated entities, and are used pending permission. Of course, judging by their disclaimers they will probably shut most of the images down which were copied from the official "Moulin Rouge" site. As I said, permission is pending, and I hope they think of this site as free advertising for them. They had the foresight to finance this work of art. The least they should do is let me show pirated DVD footage on the web. I pay for this website, and don't make a dime. Hopefully, "Moulin Rouge" will receive the Oscar (patented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ) Music on this page and video on the "Come What May" page is "Come What May" from the film. (Chapter 21 on the DVD) The essay is copyright 2001 Michael F. Nyiri. All Rights Reserved. Oh, and "Moulin Rouge is part of the AllThingsMike webhub, which includes all the sites below. | AllThingsMike | News Page | Hearsay.com | Electric Poetry | Cultural Blender | Rosemead High Virtual Pantherama | MikeVideo | ComputerBS | Yes, But Is It Art? Gallery | | Lovesearch | Philosophy | Betty Boop | Komedy Komedy Komedy | Photographs | E-mail | Site Map | These pages are best viewed at 1024 x 768 on a 19" monitor. Fonts are Arial, Pickwick, Latin Wide, Village Square, Stagecoach, Unicorn, La Bamba LET, and Weathered SF.
