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 MOULIN
ROUGE (2001)
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast:
Nicole Kidman .... Satine
Ewan McGregor .... Christian
Et al
Moulin Rouge is a postmodern pastiche of over-the-top theatricality,
which you will love or hate accordingly. Theoretically set in 1899, it
loots the repertoire of twentieth-century pop song not only for its music
but even for much of its dialogue. Other postmodern elements include the
intertextuality between the main story and the show within the show (although
this device is equally Jacobean).
I was impressed by the opening computer graphics which use 3D modeling
to pan over a representation of the Paris skyline and zoom into close-up,
but cleverness apart this is kitsch and things don’t change. The
imagery is sumptuous with eye candy also provided by the decorative Nicole
Kidman. Pop diva Kylie Minogue, currently enjoying a comeback
and articles in serious newspapers about how sexy she looks, also puts
in an appearance as the Absinthe Fairy.
Our introduction to the Moulin Rouge itself is a frenetic cavalcade of
imagery and sound in the style of an MTV video, an approach more in keeping
with Frankie Goes To Hollywood than a traditional musical. Fin de siècle
decadence is portrayed chaotically, accompanied by a musical conflation
ranging from the 'Can-Can' to 'Lady Marmalade', a number-one hit for Christine
Aguilera, whose raunchy film-tie-in pop video went one step further
in bordello fetishism. Come to think of it, late Nineteenth Century demi-monde
fashion is more-or-less the stylistic origin of modern Western fetishism.
Moulin Rouge positively explodes, but that’s it. To look
any deeper - and especially towards its professed message about "truth,
beauty, freedom and love" - would be embarrassing...enjoy it for
what it is, a hedonistic spectacle.
Rik - 12 December 2001
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