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 MOULIN
ROUGE
On a deeper level this story
is about the needless divorce between Christian spirituality and
natural sensuality. It is about how the worldly system exploits
God-given sexuality for greed and money.
- Review by David
Bruce
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(2001)
This page was created on June 2, 2001
This page was last updated on
May 23, 2005
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 Directed
by Baz Luhrmann
Written by Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce
Nicole
Kidman .... Satine
Ewan McGregor .... Christian
John Leguizamo .... Toulouse Lautrec
Jim Broadbent .... Zidler
Richard Roxburgh .... Duke of Worcester
Garry McDonald .... The Doctor
 Kerry
Walker .... Marie
David Wenham .... Audrey
Christine Anu .... Arabia Natalie
Jackson Mendoza .... China Doll
Lara Mulcahy .... Mome Fromage
Kylie Minogue .... Green Fairy
Linal Haft .... Warner
Keith Robinson .... Le Petomane
Peter Whitford .... Stage Manager
 Norman
Kaye .... Doctor
Arthur Dignam .... The Father
Carole Skinner .... Landlady
Produced
by Steve E. Andrews (associate producer), Fred Baron (producer),
Martin Brown (producer), Catherine Knapman (co-producer), Baz Luhrmann
(producer), Catherine Martin (associate producer)
Original music by Craig Armstrong, David Bowie (song), Marius De
Vries, Steve Hitchcock
Cinematography by Donald McAlpine
Film Editing by Jill Bilcock
Rated
PG-13 for sexual content (no nudity).
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QuickTime
Trailer
30
MB, 14
MB, 7
MB
Quicktime TV Spot
4.8
MB 1.2
MB
Video Clip
12
MB 4
MB
QuickTime Clips in French
12
MB French, 4
MB French
RealVideo
Trailer
low
bandwidth, high
bandwidth
RealVideo
Clips
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bandwidth, high
bandwidth
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Moulin Rouge
Various Artists
1. Lady Marmalade - Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya & Lil' Kim 2.
Diamond Dogs - Beck & Timbaland 3. Children of the Revolution -
Bono, Gavin Friday & Maurice Seezer 4. Nature Boy - David Bowie
& Massive Attack 5. Le Tango de Roxanne - Cast with Jose Feliciano
6. Because We Can - Fatboy Slim 7. Sparkling Diamonds - Nicole Kidman
8. One Day I'll Fly Away - Nicole Kidman 9. Rhythm of the Night
- Valeria 10. Hindi Sad Diamonds - Nicole Kidman & Cast 11. Your
Song - Ewan MacGregor 12. Elephant Love Medley - Ewan MacGregor
& Nicole Kidman 13. Come What May - Ewan MacGregor & Nicole Kidman
14. Compliante De La Butte - Rufus Wainwright
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Club Moulin Rouge - an experience
you won't forget!
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SYNOPSIS:
The story follows a poet (McGregor) who defies his father by moving
to Montmartre, France, the 19th century equivalent of Andy Warhol's
Factory. He falls into the world of Toulouse-Lautrec (Leguizamo) and
his entourage, and is drafted to write a nightclub spectacular. In
this seedy world of sex, drugs and electricity, he begins a passionate
but ultimately doomed love affair with the club's highest paid star
and courtesan (Kidman). |
 Nicole
Kidman flexed her muscles during her recent appearance on ?The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno? promoting this very important film.
(NBC THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO? May 16, 2001 -- Photo: Paul Drinkwater) |
THE
DIVORCE BETWEEN
SPIRITUALITY AND SENSUALITY
Review
By DAVID BRUCE
Web master HollywoodJesus.com
With
additions by SILKE FORCE
Editor
A doctoral student in Religious Studies at Concordia
University, Montreal.
Currently designing a course on Religion and Film.
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 A
STORY OF LOVE
The film is very straightforward about its theme: "This is
a story about love." Its motto is: "The greatest thing
you'll ever learn is love and be loved in return."
It
is about "a boy who wandered so very far from home." And
this boy, the Poet, narrates the tragic ending of the story before
we know the whole story, "The woman I loved has died."
There
is no surprise ending. We know what is going to happen. We have
seen this familiar story before in other incarnations. And yet,
this film tells the story in such a way that we feel it is being
told for the very first time. It really is an important film. When
I watched this film unfold I had the feeling that I was witnessing
motion picture history. A rare classic. A musical that transcended
its genre. The audience sang along with it, smiled, laughed and
cried. It's a story of tragic love that takes you on an exhilarating
and joyous ride. This film captured me and I did not want it to
end.
On
a deeper level this story is about the needless divorce between
Christian spirituality and natural sensuality. It is about how the
worldly system exploits God-given sexuality for greed and money.
It
is about overcoming sexual shame and dehumanizing behavior, while
enjoying human love and sexuality as God intended it.
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 THIS
IS THE MOULIN ROUGE
We are introduced to it as a center of sin. And indeed, it is a brothel.
It is a place where men indulge their fantasies, women sell their
bodies and the powers that be sell their souls (and the souls of others)
for greed and power. So, what good thing could ever happen here? |
 SOMEHOW
WE ENJOY IT
Despite all that we know that is wrong about such environments, there
is something exciting and pleasing about the festivities here. There
is something beyond sexploitation, lust and greed that pulls and captivates
us. But what is it? |
 THE
STAR GODDESS INCARNATE
The main attraction at the Moulin Rouge is Satine. She is the cultural
incarnation of Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Madonna.
She is the Great Goddess of ancient myth expressed and worshiped in
our time.  She
is everyman's unobtainable fantasy. She swings her perfect form high
above the men as they reach out to her. She singings Marilyn Monroe's
"Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," acts like Marlene Dietrich,
while speaking like Mae West. We feel happy in her familiar counterfeit
presence. Why is that? |
 SEEKING
ANSWERS TO LIFE
Christian enters the Moulin Rouge. Somehow he is different from the
nameless other men. He is a seeker of Truth, Freedom and Love
-a seemingly vulnerable man who has an inner strength that transcends
all the superficiality around him. He is capable of seeing something
beyond the lust and greed. Somehow he is in touch with the greater
good in life. When he looks upon Satine there is a sense of true wonderment,
humanity and compassion. |
 THE
MEANING OF SATINE
In ancient myth, the goddess Sati(ne) was a Virgin Huntress. Her
origins seem to begin in Upper Egypt; in a place was "The
Land of Sati". In India, her holy city was Abu, the City
of the Elephant. It is said that the Elephant god mated with her
and she brought forth the Enlightened Son of God, Buddha. Still
today there are worship centers in India known as the "Footprints
of Sati." In the film these mythological connections are
underscored by the Elephant structure of the Moulin Rouge, the
"Elephant Love Medley" and the performance of Madonna's
"Lik e
a Virgin." Satine dresses alternatively in White
and Red gowns -the classic Virgin
Whore goddess motif.
It
is interesting to note that the modern mind word connects the
name SATINE with SATAN, and especially so when the main character's
name is CHRISTIAN. She is a Courtesan (a prostitute) and
he is a poet of truth, freedom and love. They are as opposite
as Satan and Christ.
However,
SATINE has no actual symbolic connection with Satan in this story.
She is not Christian's adversary. (In Greek SATAN means adversary).
Instead she and the Moulin Rouge are considered Satanic. In an
opening scene a priest standing outside the Moulin Rouge warns
us of the "spiritual sin" inside. Also, Christian's
father warned him of the satanic nature of the Moulin Rouge.
SATINE is not a Satanic type at all. Rather, she is considered
the representation of Satan, evil, and sin by religious zealots
and the self-righteous.
This
is the story of the prostitute who is loved by Christ and loves
him in return. This is the story of the transforming power of
love, even over those who are considered satanic.
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 THE
MEANING OF THE ELEPHANT
The connection between the Moulin Rouge and the Elephant is interesting.
To this day the elephant represents sacred marriage in India. Buddhist
Monks lead an elephant that has been painted white through the streets
as part of their fertility ritual. Men dressed in women's clothes
(transvestites) telling coarse jokes follow in the procession -
a scene that connects at a certain level with the burlesque atmosphere
of the Moulin Rouge, a blending of the profane and the sacred.
In
the film's closing scenes, the religious Indian motif and its connection
to the elephant give the Moulin Rouge the sense of being a sacred
place. Satine has been transformed into a Virgin Queen Goddess.
The filmmaker conveys a profound sense of the sacred.
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 THE
MEANING OF THE MILL
The story is set at the turn of the previous century (an echo of
our own), but it is different in that it predates the two disastrous
world wars, events that changed our concepts of God as well as of
Freedom and Beauty. The world lost its innocence in the First World
War and, despite the "seedy" Bohemian setting, there is
still an underlying ingenuousness to the both time and place. When
the wrecking ball strikes the wall behind Zidler's head, it foreshadows
the bombs that would eventually destroy the innocence of all.
The
repeated background image of the windmill seems to symbolize the
wheel of time, relentlessly turning and moving us into the future.
In one shot, there is a poster in which an upside-down woman with
outstretched arms and legs was depicted as being tied to the vanes
of the mill; perhaps beauty itself is here crucified on the wheel
of time? Moreover, her pose is the inversion of Leonardo DaVinci's
drawing of "man," thus inverting the advance of humanity,
and once again presaging the "Great" war.
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 THE
MEANING OF CHRISTIAN
It is in the character of Christian that the story takes on some
marvelous undertones. Christian is on a quest for truth, freedom,
beauty and love.  As
he gazes from the window in his room to the Moulin Rouge, there
is a highly symbolic space (gulf) between them. Christian's room
is set in blue tones, and cluttered
with his typewriter and papers. He is a person of the written word.
He represents a religious pilgrim of the Word on a journey for truth
and love.
Interestingly,
the place where he is staying prominently displays the sign: "Chambres
A La Journée" - rooms by the day. When the story first
begins, Christian is living only one day at a time, with no thought
of the future. Even so, he has not yet learned to seize each God-given
day and really live it fully, until he finds love.
The
film is wonderfully laden with musical nostalgia, a look back at
the innocence of our youth (and/or that of our parents), and says
a great deal about the Garden of Eden of our collective memory.At
the same time, it seems to be a cautionary tale: not to so lose
ourselves in our dreams that we become unaware of what is really
happening in the world.
The
association of Christian with the color blue
is in direct contrast to Satine's association with the color red.
The eye cannot physically see red
and blue at the same time.
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Red
and blue contrast and play havoc with the eye.
They are opposites.
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  When
Christian is in Satine's world he is surrounded by red.
When he gazes from the street up to her window, his face reflects
the red glow from her room. |
  Conversely,
When Satine, wearing a red dress,
is with Christian in his world, under the night sky, everything is
transformed into a heavenly blue.
It is a powerfully spiritual moment in the film. In fact Christian
stands on top of the Elephant's head with his arms outstretched in
the form of the cross in a highly symbolic moment. |
 TRUE
LOVE IN EARTH TONES
The love they share transforms them. During their moments of exchanged
genuine love, the film shifts to earth tones,
 conveying
a peaceful sense of naturalness. Contrast
this with an earlier scene in which the Poet tries to read to the
Courtesan in the context of an exploitive sex, lust and greed (the
red brothel). The former has no real
substance, no real love. The latter is real and natural
-filled with sharing and caring love. In the former the Courtesan
uses her body to tease and seduce -lacking any real sense of humanity.
In the latter her body is at rest (no exploitation) and she is experiencing
the joy of being fully human with all the genuine sensual feelings
that go with it. |
| There
is a connection here to the biblical Song of Solomon, a poetry book
of sexual yearning, admiration, self-discovery, and descriptions of
the pleasurable bodily charms. Here true love is presented in a natural
way that is non exploitive, yet sensual. |
 RED
HAS ADDITIONAL MEANING
One of the first associations that the film makes with red
is that of blood. Satine's blood. She is dying of TB. Her blood will
have a redemptive quality to it however. It is through her red
blood that truth, freedom and love gain the victory over lust and
greed. |
 THE
EMBODIMENT OF THE WORLD'S SYSTEM
The Duke of Worcester
is the perfect villain. He has influence, power and wealth to control
the Moulin Rouge and to posses Satine. He insists that Christian and
Satine be separated for his own selfish and greedy interest. |
 THE
COMPROMISED BUSINESS MANAGER
Zidler may understand the important things in life, but he puts business
first. He prioritizes corporate gain over what is right and good.
He is a "friend" that uses and manipulates. He demands that
Satine separated her self from Christian, because, "The show
must go on.". |
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 CHRISTIAN
AND SATINE MUST SEPARATE
Satine breaks the relationship that she cannot deny. Christian is
broken hearted. But, the conflict within Satine cannot last long.
Love wins out against all obstacles.
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  LOVE
HAS CHANGED ALL THINGS.
Although she now wears the diamonds of the Duke (the mark of the beast,
as it were), her heart belongs to Christian. She now appears in blue
-the color of Christian. She is no longer the embodiment of a sex
queen. Now she is the embodiment of true love, passion and truth. |
 THE
FINAL SCENE TOGETHER
The Moulin Rouge has been transformed into a golden
eastern sacred place. The color red
has been replaced by softer tones (pink,
white and tan).
These natural tones remind us of the
wonderful moments they had together and of the transcending and transforming
power of love.
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  BUT
DEATH IS IMMINENT
Flashes of the pale green lighting
is used to convey the imminence of Satine's death. Emotions run high.
Satine's death comes. Through her death Zidler comes to his better
senses, the Duke's power is conquered. Her death brings forth truth,
justice and the full realization of love. Sadly, however Christian
now faces life without Satin. |
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Song
of Solomon 8:5-7: "I stirred up your passions under the apple
tree where you were born. Always keep me in your heart and wear
this bracelet to remember me by. The passion of love bursting into
flame is more powerful than death, stronger than the grave. Love
cannot be drowned by oceans or floods; it cannot be bought, no matter
what is offered."
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 THE
DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
"In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth... and it was good."
In the film there is a scene where the camera pans towards heaven.
With heaven and earth
in view the Moulin Rouge appears
between them. There has been a great division between the heavenly
and the earthly and this is not
good. Earthiness has been red
lined apart from heaven.
In
the story of the Garden of Eden,
the woman and the man enjoyed each other, as "one flesh"
sexually and sensually, and the pleasures of the enchanting world
around them. They walked with God.
And, they "were both naked, and they felt
no shame."
Then
greed entered. They wanted to be as God. And they disobeyed God
in their greedy quest. That sin brought about their fall.
Their
shame of disobedience replaced their former freedom and they "realized
they were naked." They tried covering themselves
with fig leaves and hiding from God.
The
story accurately describes the human condition as active disobedience
toward God. But, unfortunately sensuality rather than disobedience
has been viewed as the enemy in the story. Even though the story
has nothing to do with sexual misconduct, Church leaders have used
the story to vilify sensuality (Satine) ever since.
Scholar
Reay
Tannahill writes: "It was Augustine
who epitomized a general feeling among church fathers that the act
of intercourse was fundamentally disgusting... Ambrose called it
filthy and degrading, Methodius unseemly, Jerome unclean, Tertullian
shameful, Ambrose defilement." (as quoted by McClintock,
2001, pg 42).
A warning
against the Moulin Rouge that comes form the Christian Priest at
the beginning of the film reminds me of what Sam Keen writes in
The Passionate Life: "Romance did
not thrive well in the atmosphere of Christian theology. Much of
the sexual ethic of western Christendom was tainted by Gnostic-Manichean
dualism that regarded matter as degraded, nature as the creation
of a demon god, women as inferiors, and sex as lust to be repressed...
sexual feelings were one of the delightful gifts of the Creator.
As it was, Christianity fell into an anti-erotic posture; glorifying
virginity, degrading women, linking sex to guilty, discouraging
romance, denying the flesh, casting suspicion upon sensuality"
(McClintock,
2001, pg 43).
It
is, in fact, the heresy of Gnostic dualism in the institutional
church that causes many Christians today to think of natural
sensuality
as sinful. Gnostic Christianity
disowns sensuality, while the world
systems embrace it, just as Zidler and the Duke of Worcester
do in the film. The problem is that the world
systems market to human sensuality
in all too often dehumanizing ways.
The
separation between heaven and
earth is not good. Christian and
Satin need to come together, not in the context of a worldly
system (Moulin Rouge), but within the context of the
Garden as they walk with God.
The
world system would dry up overnight
if Christians could figure it out, validate and make room for sensuality
and sexuality as wonderful gifts
of God. In the meantime, however, what modern Gnostic
Christianity calls shameful the
world systems turn into a billion dollar industry.
Will
it happen in my lifetime? I think not. Deplorable
Gnostic dualism wins, and Christians have suffered the
loss of sensuality, just as Christian
suffered the loss of Satine in the film.
It
is such a tragic love story.
Go
to page 2
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From
the Song of Solomon
GOD'S WORD
a guide to SENSUALITY.
(Sensuality and Spirituality go together).
My
bride, my very own,
you have stolen my heart!
With one glance from your eyes
and the glow of your necklace,
you have stolen my heart.
Your love is sweeter than wine;
the smell of your perfume
is more fragrant than spices.
Your lips are a honeycomb;
milk and honey flow from your tongue.
My
darling,
you are lovely, so very lovely?
as you look through your veil,
your eyes are those of a dove.
Your hair tosses about as gracefully
as goats coming down from Gilead.
... your mouth is shapely
behind your veil are hidden beautiful rosy cheeks.
Your neck is graceful...
Your breasts are perfect;
they are twin deer feeding among lilies.
I will hasten to those hills
sprinkled with sweet perfume
and stay there till sunrise.
My darling, you are lovely in every way.
From
the Song of Solomon
-The Bible is a ticket to freedom from shame and bondage!
"And the truth shall set you free."
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