Moulin RougeMoulin Rouge! is a visually sensational musical comedy about a poor writer, Christian, falling in love with a courtesan, Satine, and their struggle to stay together while putting on a show financed by an anonymous duke who also lusts after Satine. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayI have never seen a move as grand as this. The best term I would use to describe it would be a warning sign of sensory overload. Every perceptible element of the film was spectacular and flamboyant, from the colors, to the sets, to the costumes and characters, to the music and cinematography. This film is the antithesis of No Country for Old Men or The Hurt Locker; it doesn't care about realism and is instead bathed in bands of color and jovial dynamism. There was so much to take in that I ended up with two pages of notes about the film. Here I will try to identify some of what I noticed, including several similarities to other films by director Baz Luhrmann. From the very framing of this film, it is unique. The 20th Century Fox logo and theme music are introduced by a conductor, and the film begins and ends behind a red curtain. This non-diegetic presentation presents the events of the film as a stage show, a fantastical presentation to behold. Indeed, that’s what it felt like. In the very first diegetic scene, when Christian's first-person narration covers a quick visual tour of the film's Paris, black and white was used rather than color. You don't have to be a scholar to recognize that this is used, along with depictions of ruins, dark alleys and suspected prostitutes, to give a sense of sadness to the introduction. When Christian reveals that his love is dead, this is affirmed and justified. Once the film's introduction ends and the story begins to move forward (albeit in flashback), the audience, and Christian, are introduced to the remarkably eccentric bohemians. All of these characters, The Bohemians, are a testament to the importance of costume design. Their amalgamated appearance of Steampunk-meets-Hipster-meets-Disneyland is quite a spectacle, and it's no surprise that this film won the Oscar for Best Costume Design. Their extravagant fashion immediately serves, without even a word (well, going through Christian's ceiling helped too), to express the eccentricity of their personality. Their performances, of course, also help achieve this, as well as the editing and design of this scene. The shots are short, the movements unusually fast, and the lighting and set design are reminiscent of another overly saturated wonderland, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. An often recurring element in this film's soundtrack, which I still don't really understand, is the use of modern (well, 20th century, anyway) music in explosive orchestral numbers. Their use creates a sort of Easter egg hunt for viewers, who will recognize passages from songs by The Police, The Beatles, Nirvana, U2, Madonna, etc., but other than that I can't say I understand the concrete. reasoning behind the decision to use them. From what I've seen, the use of modern music in conjunction with ancient or historical stories seems to be something of a trademark of Baz Luhrmann's films, such as The Great Gatsby and Romeo + Juliet. this film, particularly in the scenes set at the eponymous Moulin Rouge when it is in full operation. The plans of.