Genres:
Musical
Romance
Theatrical Release: 05/18/2001(USA
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DDS/DD5.1/DTS/THX
Run Time:
Flags: Questionable for Children, Sexual Situations, Suitable for Teens
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
The third film from pop-music-obsessed director
Baz Luhrmann tweaks the conventions of the musical genre by mixing a period romance with anachronistic dialogue and songs in the style of his previous
Romeo+Juliet (1996).
Ewan McGregor stars as Christian, who leaves behind his bourgeois father during the French
belle époque of the late 1890s to seek his fortunes in the bohemian underworld of Montmartre, Paris. Christian meets the absinthe- and alcohol-addicted artist
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (
John Leguizamo), who introduces him to a world of sex, drugs, music, theater, and the scandalous dance known as the cancan, all at the
Moulin Rouge, a decadent dance hall, brothel, and theater that's the brainchild of Harold Zidler (
Jim Broadbent). Christian also meets and falls into a tragically doomed romance with the courtesan Satine (
Nicole Kidman), who becomes the star of the play he's writing, which parallels the couple's romance and utilizes rock music from a century later, including songs by
Nirvana,
Madonna,
the Beatles, and
Queen, among others. Loosely based on the opera
Orpheus in the Underworld,
Moulin Rouge was shown in competition at the 2001
Cannes Film Festival. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
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