Moulin Rouge! Review
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Moulin Rouge! Review
The main character, Christian, is an English writer who comes to Paris during the Bohemian movement. He falls in love with the singer of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, Satine, who suffers from a terminal case of Tuberculosis. Satine is a worldly and beautiful courtesan who believes that diamonds are a girls best friend. She wants money and not love from her gentlemen clients, yet she dreams of leaving the show to become a real actress. Through mistaken identity, Satine believes Christian is a wealthy and powerful Duke who will invest in the cabarets new show and make her a star. Satine is at first taken with Christians poetry but is shocked to realize he is actually a penniless writer. Christian and Satine fall madly in love, while Harold Zidler, the Moulin Rouges manager and a father figure to Satine, struggles to keep the Duke interested in the show even though Satine has not yet spent the night with him.
The romantics were a group of artists, actors, writers and singers who believed in Bohemian ideals. These disenchanted people of all sorts wished to live lifestyles contrary to tradition and held ideals of beauty, passion, freedom, truth but above all things, love.
A scene where the ideals of the romantics were played out was in the final scene of the film, where Christian and Satine are singing about their love for each other. Christian had turned his back on Satine but then she began to sing to him. Christian was slow to turn back but eventually did so. This demonstrated the romantic ideals that throughout all things this shows that love prevails.
Colour was used throughout the film with great effect. The bright and flamboyant colours used in the Moulin Rouge and that were worn by the performers suggests an atmosphere of happiness and positivism. This is sense is created were Christian is in the elephant room with Satine, decorated with colour on the walls, the floor but particularly the bed and furniture in the room. When the Duke walks in on the pair there is an air of excitement which is in some instances quite comic, but happiness and love prevails in that scene.
The setting of the opening dance scene at the Moulin Rouge gives an understanding of the story. The Moulin Rouge is set in France during the Bohemian Revolution. Christian first goes to the Moulin Rouge and the vibrant scenes show that it is an area of depravity and burlesque. It is not until later when Satine enters the story that it becomes evident it is a love story. Through the setting the audiences understanding of the story was enhanced.
In the first scene, Christian first goes to the Moulin Rouge. The costumes that are worn by the characters clearly indicate that it was going to be based around burlesque to a degree and about a courtesan and going to be about a love story.
Silence was used to convey meaning in the film. The scene where Satine is about to leave the Moulin Rouge and run away with Christian is a good example. She has had everything ready to depart but Harold Zidler enters and informs Satine that she is dying; this is followed by a long period of silence focusing on Satine and her raw emotion. This conveys the meaning that even if she does run away with Christian, the outcome will result badly, ultimately with Satine dying.
Gesture is a powerful aspect of the film. In the final scene, Christian turns his back on Satine to show that he does not love her, does not want to be with her and that he has finished with his “whore”. Christian proceeds to walk off, the audience believing this is part of the performance. This use of gesture is very forceful in terms of its meaning and execution.
The use of voice is integral to the Moulin Rouge. Harold Zidler is a perfect example of the use of voice, where he does so to enthral the audience as the Master of Ceremonies. Zidlers voice creates a degree of suspense to the story, particularly in the final scene where Satine and Christian are caught on stage together. Here, he uses his voice to arouse the emotions of the audience and to explain what has happened, even though he has had to improvise.
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