Moulin Rouge!

Baz Luhrmann has an amazing ability to turn Moulin Rouge into an unusually intense, emotional, "original", (non-)kitsch spectacle that is just very hard not to succumb to. And I loved the grace with which Moulin Rouge teeters on the edge between total kitsch and riveting emotional spectacle. The choreography, the sets, the costumes, the music, the boldness and inventiveness of the direction, the hauntingly beautiful Nicole Kidman... plainly and simply the prototype of a film that can provide an intense emotional experience from beginning to end. A year earlier, Lars von Trier also made a wannabe musical "his own way", which I coincidentally also gave full marks. The difference is that I was still quite nauseous for a few days after Dancer in the Dark and to this day I have no desire for a second viewing. With this film, I know I will want to watch it again very soon and I definitely won't be nauseous in the "Trier" sense :-) (08/08/2013)

Tacky, overstylized, crazy and wild postmodern playfulness that you just can't resist. Moulin Rouge! won't let you catch your breath from the very beginning, you'll have to get used to the fast pace and you may find the humor insane at first, but if you stick with an open mind, there is a great chance that it will eventually completely absorb you, just like it did to me. The mix of humor, romance, and drama may come off as quite saccharine and fluctuating, but it worked for me. Moreover, what starts mainly as a comedy in the first half, turns into a truly powerful and intense drama in the second half, sealing the film's exceptionalism. The romantic story is not particularly original or revolutionary, but it is so perfectly executed that you simply forgive the various clichés and enjoy it, even if you've seen or read something similar before. I consider "Your Song" and "Elephant Love Medley" to be the musical highlights of the film. The chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor is excellent and feels completely natural. My only major criticism would probably be that the viewer knows the outcome of the film from the beginning, and even though the ending is strong, it might have had an even stronger impact if we didn't know. Otherwise, it's a magical film that I will watch many times over. (08/10/2017)

An absolutely breathtaking spectacle from an editing standpoint, culminating in the incredible "Roxanne" sequence, which is an audiovisual work of art in its own right. For a generally commercial musical with an average shot length of around a second, Luhrmann has my sincere respect, but I guess that's where it ends. Most of the time, the whole concept was a walk through hell – creepy characters, horrible developments, incredibly stupid humor (three penis jokes, hohoho) or horrible plots and subplots built on mistaken identity and allegories. The film exploits each of these endlessly, and even this is not enough, so that after one of the plots is over, the film turns around and repeats it again (Satine and Christian breaking up)! Then, if during the musical numbers you also feel as if you've fallen asleep under a broken jukebox after a bottle of absinthe, with the top 20 most played songs playing over and over again, I welcome you to the therapy of "Moulin Rouge tried to beat me to death." During our first class, your therapy assignment will be to throw the camera through the spinning blades of the mill. We have 30 attempts at this, so you don't have to feel bad about it. The movie sure didn't feel bad about it. (01/11/2018)

In the first fifteen minutes or so I was already saying that it is unbearably over-styled, tasteless, bullshit… and wasn’t far from turning it off. But then – and I didn’t notice exactly when it happened – I realised how much I was enjoying it. I don’t think I ever had such a total change of opinion while watching a film. I can’t provide a sufficiently reasonable explanation why I’m giving five stars to this piece of kitsch, but I just can’t help it. (22/08/2009)

Sometimes I tell myself that it's hardly possible for there to exist such a precisely balanced border between deafening noise and indescribable beauty. A highly romantic affair, in which a tremendous amount of tension lies hidden, led by my favorite film scene of all time: The hiding of the main couple, ingeniously built up to the perfect Because she doesn't love you! moment. The pinnacle of cinematography and the most emotionally captivating affair. Thank you, Mr. Luhrmann, for the best film I have ever seen. (24/12/2004)