Moulin Rouge! – Singing (Recommendation)

Year: 2001

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan Mcgregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Kylie Minogue, Jacek Koman, David Wenham, Caroline O’Connor

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtEgAx80NC4

 

Baz Luhrmann is a director obsessed with the fantastical, musical, and beautiful. From Romeo+Juliet to The Great Gatsby, Luhrmann has incorporated the modern world into stories from or set in the past.

 

Moulin Rouge set in Paris at the turn of if the century, and birth of the bohemian revolution. A young and naive poet called Christian (Ewan McGregor), moves to the city to find love, only to fall into the infamous world of the Moulin Rouge and its brightest star and courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman). Another ill-fated couple who have to fight, and sing, for their love and lives.

 

The film starts with a shot of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) singing a rendition of Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy. The black and white style and sombre lyrics foreshadow the darker tones of the film. Additionally, Luhrmann follows this with a Shakespearianesque prologue where the entire plot is revealed to the audience, preparing them for the heartache and the age old tale of star-crossed lovers.

 

Moulin Rouge uses a medley of contemporary songs to create their unique soundtrack, each song and mash-up is easy and incredibly thrilling to sing along to. One of the most memorable moments is the Elephant Love Medley, which included snippets of hit songs by Elton John (Your Song); David Bowie (Heroes); Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (Don’t Leave Me This Way); Kiss (I Was Made for Loving You); The Beatles (All You Need Is Love); Phil Collins (One More Night); U2 (Pride); Whitney Houston (I Will Always Love You); Wings (Silly Love Song); and Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes (Up Where We Belong). Though it seems impossible that so many songs can fit into a four minute slot, Luhrmann succeeds in balancing each song, combining them in an effortless way.

 

My ultimate favourite song from the film has to be El Tango De Roxanne, a Spanish tango spin on The Police’s hit song Roxanne. However, if you listen to the two songs side by side, the only similarity is the lyrics, as Luhrmann added a new edge of sexuality and raw passion to the song that only the tango could fulfil. Though Moulin Rouge will make you sing and cry, its main lesson teaches us that “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.”