Moulin Rouge features dazzling visuals, great cast

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|bold_on|"Moulin Rouge"|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Directed by: Baz Luhrmann|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|Rated: PG-13|ret||ret||tab|

Please excuse the indulgence, but I have to convey a piece of personal history in order to put this critique in proper perspective.|ret||ret||tab|

In my "old days," living with the folks, playing in bands and existing pretty much hand-to-mouth, we used to scrape our change together to buy SGA beer, which came eight to a pack in a convenient plastic bag ... for 99 cents. |ret||ret||tab|

We also habituated Ken's pizza parlor that had the first pizza buffet I remember in Springfield. It was $1.25 for all you could eat and we would stuff ourselves, not knowing when the next buck and a quarter would come. |ret||ret||tab|

One day, in the midst of our indulgence, my friend Larry (may he rest in peace), proclaimed what a great deal this buffet was. He also happened to mention that he really hated pizza. He hated cheese. He hated everything about what he was eating. |ret||ret||tab|

But it was a really good deal. |ret||ret||tab|

This brings me to my point.|ret||ret||tab|

Director Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" is a great deal, a wonderful piece of filmmaking. It's dazzlingly visual, has incredible production numbers and a wonderful, totally involved cast of seasoned actors. |ret||ret||tab|

The camera work and editing are frenetic and effective, and, most of all, the film tells a great story. Which is what good movie making is all about.|ret||ret||tab|

But as my friend Larry felt about pizza, I feel about musicals. |ret||ret||tab|

I hate them. |ret||ret||tab|

All of them. |ret||ret||tab|

Every one of them. |ret||ret||tab|

Without exception. |ret||ret||tab|

Even the "cool" ones like "West Side Story." |ret||ret||tab|

Hated it!|ret||ret||tab|

Even as a naive, Midwestern kid, I always knew if these mincing Jets and Sharks ever met up with a real gang of New York City toughs, circa 1960, they'd get their rears kicked. |ret||ret||tab|

Nowadays the boys in the hood would just bust a cap in their prancin' little heads. |ret||ret||tab|

So, the preface is this: I hate musicals, and "Moulin Rogue" is a real musical. Granted, it breaks new ground for the genre, but it's still a musical.|ret||ret||tab|

It's also a stunning piece of filmmaking from one of the most innovative and promising directors working in Hollywood today, and as much as I hate musicals, I love movies.|ret||ret||tab|

Baz Luhrmann's last film, "Romeo + Juliet" redefined the way we look at Shakespeare, and with "Moulin Rouge" he's putting a romantic notion of decadent history in a modern (and still decadent) perspective.|ret||ret||tab|

"Moulin Rogue" takes place at the famous Paris nightclub in 1899, when it was inhabited by not only the French bourgeoisie, but by countless bohemian artists, most notably Toulouse Lautrec, played in the film by John Leguizamo.|ret||ret||tab|

The story revolves around an aspiring writer, Christian, who comes to Paris and falls for the beautiful actress/courtesan Satine, the jewel of the Moulin Rogue. |ret||ret||tab|

There's a classic love triangle here as Satine must satisfy the longings of the smarmy Duke of Worcester who's going to bankroll the Rouge's new production while trying to find happiness with the penniless writer Christian. |ret||ret||tab|

Christian, unbeknownst to even himself until he meets Toulouse Lautrec, is a true bohemian who believes in truth, beauty, freedom and most of all ... love! |ret||ret||tab|

I put the exclamation point there because that's the way the film treats the subject. |ret||ret||tab|

Love is a many splendored thing. Love is like oxygen. Love is thicker than water. All you need is love.|ret||ret||tab|

Luhrmann weaves his tale and incorporates modern music, done in traditional big musical style, throughout "Moulin Rogue." From "The Sound of Music," to the Beatles, Elton John and Nirvana, everything is fair game.|ret||ret||tab|

Hating musicals as much as I do, I still have to say this is a film that should be seen. |ret||ret||tab|

Some of the scenes at the infamous nightclub are as heady as the absinthe buzz that Lautrec and the other bohemians experience, and the final production number will set new standards for movie musicals.|ret||ret||tab|

Which, by the way, I hate. |ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)|ret||ret||tab|

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