Then we have Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, both of whom are brilliant on screen, earnestly dedicated, and exquisitely gorgeous. The flame of their on-screen love is a raging inferno and we are swept up in the wildfire that is their passion for one another. Whether it is Christian's boyish naivety in McGregor's facial features or his sly smiles or his simple bohemian attire, McGregor is as handsome a man as you'll find. And Kidman is achingly beautiful with her porcelain skin, sea blue eyes, hair the color of sunset, and seductive and elegant outfits (designed by Angus Strathie and Luhrmann's wife, Catherine Martin, and made by countless individuals). To top it all off, both reveal singing voices that are absolutely sublime and shocking in their silver-toned pitch-perfect glory.

 

 

 

 

 

The most powerful instances in the film, as a musical, come when the plight of our heroes becomes so great that it seems the earth might as well threaten to swallow them up and be done with it. First of note is a duet with Kidman and Jim Broadbent, "The Show Must Go On". One of Zigler's shining moments occurs as he shares with Satine this sorrowful dirge on the dawn of opening day while seamstresses chime in with background vocals. He laments over the situation he has allowed his "gosling" to be forced into with the duke and Satine dresses as if for a funeral to tell Christian she does not love him anymore in order to save him from being murdered. But still, despite the pains in their hearts, these are people of the theater...of the exhibition...of the show-- and that show must go on.

 

 

The piece de resistance, however, is a seven minute segment called "El Tango de Roxanne", another dual performance-- not quiet a duet, more of a duel-- between the Argentinian and Christian. Christian, in an oppressive funk, waits with the rest of the denizens of the Moulin Rouge one night as Satine dines with the duke in a tower; all know full well a hunger for something other than food is meant to be sated by the duke this night. The Argentinian, who respects and cares for Christian, is furious with him for falling in love with a woman who he thinks cannot be loved. Like a master storyteller he begins to recount a tale of a man who fell in love with a prostitute and soon his words are replaced with the most stirring, intense, and communicative dance I have ever seen. His tango is lustful, desirous, but most significantly, violent, and soon the dance hall is filled with pairs engaging in the sensual but unnerving choreography. He sings agonized and heartfelt lines from The Police's "Roxanne" while Christian slinks away singing his own plaintive and despondent lyrics.   Spotlights shine and the color red litters these shots-- the walls of the hall, the red light bathing the grounds outside, even the focal point Argentinian wears a bright red jacket. Juxtaposed against this tension is more tension as Satine and the duke sit in the dark tower where everything is cold and blue. As the violent tango becomes a reality in the tower, the violins become jarring and cacophonous, the singing becomes even more anxious, and the dancing and cutting becomes almost frantic. All at once, the entire cast begins to scream with hearts torn asunder and in a dizzying series of jump cuts three final punctuating acts of violence bring the devastatingly effective number to a close.

 

During the Tango, before his outburst of rage, the duke says to Satine in regards to the ending of "Spectacular, Spectacular!", "Let Zigler keep his fairy tale ending." Fairy tale or historical re-imagining, Moulin Rouge! is very much a fantasy with its green fairies, singing moons, dancing amongst clouds, lights that flare in eyes when one is lovestruck, and a Paris that lights up at night when a romantic poet sings. Being a fantasy, it tends to push through its mounting thunderhead of troubles and find silver linings or even sunshine throughout ordeals and in the end. The film is sad, yet cathartic and possessing of immense polish, rhythm, and splendor. It is hard to quantify or rationalize in full the high regard in which I hold this film and even harder to detail what makes it so romantic. If Moulin Rouge! was a living, breathing creature-- and sometimes I wonder if it is not as it continues to enthrall me every time I see it-- it would live and breathe romance.