Moulin Rouge!

Paris has never been gayer than in this headlong karaoke culture crash set in a poptastic 19th century Montmartre, where Ewan McGregor composes The Sound of Music and Toulose-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) leads an acting troupe. Nicole Kidman is Satine, a consumptive courtesan who is the queen of the show at da eponymous club. Jim Broadbent, her boss, sings Like a Virgin. The movie is not so much edited as sliced and diced. But everything looks fabulous.

Ba-dazzling stuff from Luhrmann, a filmmaker seemingly intent on reaching the Palace of Wisdom in double-quick time, just so he can get back on the road to excess by nightfall.

Like a movie version of Mad King Ludwig’s Bavarian fairytale castle, it’s a mishmash of decoration, drapery and debauchery that’s both deeply pleasurable and kitschy. It may not be the kind of place you’d actually want to live in. But after you’ve seen it, its rooms magically reassemble themselves in your memory, and the colors are softer, the vibe is warmer and there’s love in every corner. Moulin Rouge! is l’amour fou written in neon.

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

A breathtaking baroque film that marries the best of theatre, opera and cinematic technique.

Liz Moody, Empire magazine

The film dances; the heart sings.

Richard Corliss, Time magazine

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