Moulin Rouge! Will Do Anything for Love
- McKayla Walker Kowallis
- Apr 30, 2017
- 3 min read
Moulin Rouge! (2001), the whimsical juke-box musical starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, follows the tragic love story of Christian (McGregor), young writer infatuated with the idea of love, and Satine (Kidman), a courtesan with consumption who dreams to live a life as a “real” actress. This story is based in part on the opera La Boheme, which is why many times it focuses on the Bohemian Revolution that was started in Paris in 1899.
Oh, and here's the trailer for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about.
It focuses on a dominant reading (this is movie-critic vocab for "duh this is what the movie is about". I have a background in film, meaning I took a class in college) of how “A life without love is terrible”, but an oppositional reading (this is further movie critic vocab for "the 1009374 other ways you could read this movie) that supports the Bohemian Revolution is present. This oppositional reading is similar to the dominant, but that love is more important than money or monetary success, and it is worth dying for.
I would say there are spoilers below, but honestly, this movie has been out for over 10 years. I'm not going to warn you about spoilers. Also, they say in the first minute of the movie that Satine dies, so that's probably the only spoiler in this. However, if you're really that concerned, just don't read this and go rent the movie for $1.99 on YouTube or find a Blockbuster that isn' closed down and see if you can get it there.
You Gotta Get Past the First 20 Minutes
The beginning of this film is the worst part of the film. The camerawork is shaky and disconnected. There are strange sound effects that sound like they belong in a children’s television show, not a major film. The camera speed seems faster and the editing is choppy. This is all symbolic of how “a life without love is terrible”, which is something Christina believes, and therefore, the beginning of the movie is terrible.
However, when he sees Satine for the first time in the Moulin Rouge!, the music stops and it is silent except for their breathing and the sparkling of her dress. Once he meets Satine, the movie starts shifting and becoming better to watch, just as love continues to make a person’s life better.
When he and Satine sing “Your Song”, (above) the entire movie is edited smoothly, the sound effects are lessened, and it becomes one of the greatest films of the last 20 years (this is just my opinion, but that's why you're reading this- you apparently value my opinion).
The more that they grow to love one another, the smoother and more beautiful that the movie becomes until Satine’s death. Even this death scene, with Christian screaming and crying, is done so beautifully and realistically because love is so beautiful, real, and sometimes, tragic.
Would You Like to Join a Revolution? We Have Pamphlets!
The Bohemian Revolution in this film is the idea that all that matters is truth, beauty, freedom, and above all things, love. As a result, when Christian comes to Paris from London to become a writer and a member of this Revolution, he gives up wealth and monetary success. Satine has a choice between suitors in this film- Christian or the Duke (Richard Roxburg). The Duke is incredibly wealthy, at one point even giving Satine a giant diamond necklace to prove his love. However, his love isn’t rooted in the principles of the Bohemian Revolution, except perhaps beauty. But he doesn’t care about the beauty of a person's personality and character, but simply their physical beauty and appeal to be a diamond in his collection of wealth. Satine is appealing to him because of her shallow beauty, whereas Christian loves Satine for who she is.
Satine gets to chose between these two men and lifestyles, and she chooses love over wealth. She could be a real actress, her dream since she was a child, with the Duke’s help. However, she chooses the “penniless sitar player” over an “evil maharaja who offers a lifetime of security. That’s real love.”
And That's All Folks
Moulin Rouge! tells a truly breathtaking story about people who will do anything for love. Both the dominant and potential oppositional readings of this film support the idea of love, where the dominant is how life without love is terrible, and the oppositional is is that those with love will sacrifice wealth and fame for it. The directors certainly will even sacrifice a good beginning of a movie to demonstrate that love is worth the sacrifice.
Altogether, “love is a many splendid thing, all you need is love.”
Culture Cult Grade: A- (because that beginning really sucks)
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