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 Moulin Rouge! |
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Moulin Rouge! by Baz Luhrman, 2001 In Europe, Moulin Rouge! was released in the same period as From Hell and The Time Machine. All three movies had in common that they were set at the turn of the nineteenth century to the twentieth. They came in a pack that put more attention to the Victorian era and steampunk. Both Moulin Rouge! and From Hell were responsible for a revival of Absinthe. But the audience was deceived. If you take the time to read about Moulin Rouge! and what the team wanted with it, you will notice that the movie is in no way Victorian or steampunk or even a period piece. It’s a story about love... Baz Luhrman made the movie, a story about love, which he presents as a musical; the sung words make the movie. The backdrop for this is the Moulin Rouge!, but adjusted to suit the young audience of the twenty-first century. The story in the movie is thin and shallow, and told some thousands times before. Love is timeless and what is put around against the basic story line is nothing special for 1899, the year the movie is set in. In the interviews, Luhrman says it is not the story that makes the movie, but the way it is told, and he is right about that. What he does, is changing dialogues to quotes from popular songs from our time and thus knitting together a musical. The music score is thus very modern and reminds in nothing of Victorian times. It works well enough for the movie, mind you, it’s a joy to hear your favourite songs used as a way to express love. But hearing songs like “Roxanne” (The Police), “Like a virgin” (Madonna) and “Smells like teen spirit” (Nirvana) doesn’t really get you into a gothic steam phantastic mood. The atmosphere in the movie reminds me more of a seventies disco than of Bohémien Paris from 1899. The dancing, the dresses, the set itself is all over the top and glamour and glitter all over, without any historical correctness. This starts with the advertising material and the inlay of the DVD, and continues all through the movie. Once again, this really fits the movie and works very well, it becomes a swirling spectacular spectacular of larger than life decadent drama. But it doesn’t live up to the “Victorian Era revival” the media claimed it to be in 2001. Paris is just a name, an atmosphere in this movie. It is entirely shot in Australia and you won’t recognise a single spot from real Paris. The Parisian landmarks are nothing more than props to say “this is Europe’s decadent capital” and are obviously fake: like you’re watching a theater show. And that’s just what it is: entertainment. If you are able to look through the glitter and glamour of the movie and are not too distracted by the spectacle, you might see some seeds for ideas to use in game play or storytelling. These are the exotic stages used in the Moulin Rouge, the idea of financing that nightclub, and the craziness of Absinthe-fuelled Bohémiens. On these themes you can do some research elsewhere. This is a story about love and not about a survey on social life in 1899. In the end, the movie is well worth watching, especially with friends and party along with the persons on the screen. But steampunk or even slightly Victorian? No. © Yaghish 2004 |
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