Hi Azeem -
Most of what you say about Moulin Rouge is true, but I loved it anyway
precisely because it is all the things you criticized. This is a film that
Ken Russell would have made if he had digital technology. I thought it
looked fantastic and that it worked because it was so excessive. I HATE
musicals for the most part but this one worked for me because it was so
daring and unexpected and overdone. The script was pathetic in some ways,
but it absolutely worked. If you had stayed to watch the rest of the film,
you would see how the script suddenly gets very, very clever and repeats
itself in the confines of the actual production they put on. The Indian
musical at the end is THE best part of the film, a completely garish and
ornate production with a thousand extras portraying Hindu deities. The
movie was a visual triumph and it has to be accepted that it was made with
tongue very firmly in cheek.
Vive la difference!
- Clark
