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INTERPRETATION OF HOSEA
Subject: Moulin Rouge
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005
From: Jacob

From the opening 20th Century Fox music, this film captivated my attention. . .I didn't originally see the film in the theatre, but waited until it came out on DVD. Probably because of the fear of it being too racey, I waited. I can honestly say I was touched on many various levels while watching the film. . .If you read the first chapter of the Old Testement book, Hosea, Moulin Rouge is a visual interpretation of this ancient script, and a beautiful story of God's never ending love for us, regardless of our past.

Cinematography, AMAZING! Baz is a genius w/ a camera. I have watched this film over and over, turning many friends of mine on to it.

We are all on the search for Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love. . I we can fiend it in God's passion for us.

Come be apart of the Children of the Revolution,

Jacob

WONDERFUL SITE
Subject: Moulin Rouge
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002
From: Davida Thompson

Hello David,
Your site is wonderful, and I love the spiritual insight you and your other reviewers find in movies. Reading reviews of the movies I see on your website and then watching the movie (or vice versa) really enriches the experience for me. You have even convinced me to see movies I had no desire to see. Moulin Rouge is the best example of this. It looked like a really silly movie to me, but after reading your review, I rented it (actually ordered it on pay per view) and I absolutely loved it! Amazing movie. (Yes, it was -David)

I was just wondering if you knew about the movie adaptation of Joseph Girzone's novel entitled Joshua, which comes out in April. I just saw a preview for it tonight on television. It stars Tony Goldwyn, F. Murray Abraham and Giancarlo Gianinni. It looks quite interesting. There is a website for the movie: www.joshuathemovie.com. I would like to know what you think of this. Most movies put out directed specifically at a "Christian" audience seem to be of a MUCH poorer quality than those put out by "secular" studios, and often seem to just serve one purpose--a visual, extremely OBVIOUS sermon with no reality to them. However, this film, put out by Epiphany Films, seems, at least in the trailer, to be of a much higher quality. I loved the Joshua novel, and I am hoping this is a quality film-hopefully it will be much better than the awful (bad acting, bad e! diting, bad everything, in my opinion) Left Behind movie. Please let us know if you've heard about this upcoming movie. (I will -David)

 One last thing- I read your review of the movie Amelie, and was enchanted. However, it never appeared in any theaters in my area. Is it now on video or dvd, or will it be soon (do you know?) Any help would be appreciated. (Soon, but sure of date -David)

Thanks so much for reading this, and keep up the good work. We all could use a little more of the grace you extend. (Thanks -David)

In Christ,
Davida Thompson

EXCELLENT READING
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002
From: Shân

 Excellent reading - i loved your essay on MR ... just one thing though, and maybe it's been pointed out before but you mentioned that Christian takes a room in a hotel that says "Chambres a la journ?e" - that doesn't mean for the journey, it means for a day, ie you can rent a room just for the day. Voyage in french means journey.
Thanks, Sh?n

DID WE SEE THE SAME FILM?
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 03:33:45 -0800
From: "Dan Saperstein"

While I appreciate the depth of thought that went into the review of Moulin Rouge, I am afraid the author goes a bit overboard in his deconstruction of the film. Contrary to his overblown analysis (the Egyptian goddess Sati!) the spiritual content of the film is just simplistic and adolescent: the redemptive power of romantic love (often confused with sensuality and eroticism) contrasted with oppressive religious moralism. The story is overworn and the plot is threadbare and utterly predictable. No doubt, the film scores a "10" for art direction and cinematography, but the writing is so cliche that I thought the only way to enjoy the film was to accept it as "camp," i.e., an intentional spoof of the genre, right down to the choice of music ("Silly Love Songs"? "Like a Virgin"?). Alas, all I have seen about the director's intentions do not support this theory. The result is "burlesque" on film: a lot of eye candy but ultimately a waste of time and talent.
The Rev. Dan Saperstein Pullman, WA

Response: This film is not a waste of time and talent. It is brilliant and the members of the Academy agree. It is Sati, the use of the elephant underscores that, please brush up on your mythology. Also, get a good book on Celtic spirituality to understand romantic love as created by God, therefore it reflects God's love and passion for us. -David

BRAVO!
Subject: Bravo! Moulin_Rouge
Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2002
From: Rev. Dean

I watched the video of MR last night and have not been able to get the movie out of my mind. I wondered why that was so until I read your brilliant review. Now I know. There are meanings within meanings that I probably would have somehow worked out eventually after seeing it several times but with your help I can move a bit quicker. I'm going to recommend it to every adult in my church and suggest a discussion group over coffee.
Thanks. Rev. Dean

PURE BEAUTY
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001
From: Rebecca

hey, thanks for highlighting the pure beauty of Moulin Rouge. When I saw the film, my sky just burst before me; it was like watching my own life on the big screen. A week before I saw the film, my boyfriend had just died from Cancer - only three months after we fell in love. Even the lyrics that Satine mutters before things go wrong were the very same lyrics that I played to Rishi, my boyfriend, when i met him: If I should die this very moment, I wouldn't fear. As I've never known completeness before like knowing you. Wrapped in the warmth of you, loving every breath of you, you are the one, i've waited for... [Gorecki, by LAMB] The review was beautifully written.
Thank you, Rebecca
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is love and be loved in return."

COMMENT
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001
From: "justin"

Hi, I was most impressed on reading your movie review of Moulin Rouge ? I recently watched the film and seeked a deeper meaning to what I perceived to be the concepts held within the movie ? and your review was brilliant in making its various points! Many thanks Justin

SPECTACULAR! SPECTACULAR!
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001
From: Jessica

David, Here's the site address to Spectacular! Spectacular! I mentioned in my past post. http://twodiamonddogs.tripod.com It isn't too much just yet. I'm working on an extensive update on my link page at the moment.
Sincerely, Jessica

I CRIED
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001
From: Milena

I have read your review of Moulin Rouge about 4 times and love it every time. I saw the movie and thought it was a beautiful film. I was expecting a so-so story similar to the Titanic romance. Boy and girl meet, have sex, and they're automatically in love. Not so with Moulin Rouge. Christian teaches Satine about love and beauty, and she is changed by him, as you will notice near the ending scene when she appears blue instead of red. I cried in the movie, all my friends that have seen it cried, even my football player boyfriend cried! Wonderful movie, and wonderful review.
~Milena

FANSITE FOR MOULIN Rouge
Subject: Your Review Moulin Rouge
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001
From: Jessica

Dear Mr. Bruce,
Thank you for writing this review of Moulin Rouge. I found it very interesting. More so than the Christian standpoint, I enjoyed your examination of symbolism. I am an english major and am acutely interested in deeper meanings. I have yet to come across such an extensive examination of symbolism on my now favorite movie. I really appreciate it. I have a fansite for Moulin Rouge called Spectacular! Spectacular! and will be happy to add a link to the Hollywood Jesus Review. I want more of my visitors to see your insightful review.
Truly, Jessica

Reponse: Thank you Jessica. BTY what is your site address? -David

SAY IT ISN'T TRUE
Subject: Moulin Rouge
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001
From: Ron

David,
I agree with you on the importance of Christians discerning the unbiblical identification of innocent sensuality as "the flesh" as was taught by ancient Christian theologians who tried to mix Greek Platonic thought with Scripture that had been given to Jewish writers). However, when I read the following sentence in your review of Moulin Rouge, it looks as if you have gone off the deep end.

"It is a romance between Satan and Christ."

I hope it is only a typo. Most of the typos in your web site (are there are lots of them) can easily be overlooked?the intended meaning is easy to figure out. I appreciate the enthusiasm and energy with which you write, and I understand that such energy can sometimes run roughshod over the finer details of communication, such as proofreading.

Did you mean to say that the story of Moulin Rouge is a romance between SATINE and Christ?or a romance between SATAN and Christ?
Ron

Response: Of course there is no actual romance between Satan and Christ. I mean good grief. This is a story of senuality -often considered satanic- and spiriuality (Christ) and the relationship between them. This is the sense I plainly give in the review. -David

PHENOMENAL
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001
From: jessi deadpoet417@aol.com
To: _E-mail

david-
i absolutely loved your review. i thought this movie was the most phenomenal thing i've seen in a long time...visually, musically, and spiritually. of course, i didn't expect anything less from my man luhrmann...your connection between "the prostitute" and "the christ figure" was startling. i hadn't thought of that. also, i had noticed a bit or the 'color' sybolism you commented on, but you took it further. your insights completely blew me away and made me look at it an entirely different way...now i've got to go back and see it again!

but i do have to tell you that the hotel christian stayed in was called "chambres a la journee"- the literal french translation would be "rooms by the day". as in, rented by the day. i took this as an advertisement, not the hotel's name. (the other side simply says "hotel building").

i also have one single complaint about the film's symbolism about the nature of love. it seems to perpetuate the old hollywood myth that "love=sex" and vice versa. the characters only seem to be truly "in love" after they've had sex. that, coupled with a few isolated lines (such as christian's U2 paraphrase- "one night in the name of love") caught my attention. as well as this film does with revolutionizing hollywood cliches, that one still fell through the cracks.

but still, this was a fabulous piece of work overall (i've got to say that the "tango de roxanne" sequence was one of the best visual/emotional representations i've ever seen...it was literally breathtaking), and i think this was a terribly artistic look at a subculture remarkably similar to one going on in america today.

keep up the good work.
jessi deadpoet417@aol.com

Response: Thanks for the additonal information and the thoughts, I always appreciate it -David.

WINDMILLS
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001
From: Brent Young

I've enjoied everyone's comments on the Spectacular, Spectacular film. There is an element that is purposefully put in many of the shots that has not been addressed. That is the windmill. It is so obvious in many shots, it even has a sound effect durring Satine's speech about how she can never love. It is the peril that separates the divide, the gauntlet that has to be run to enter the Moulin Rouge and the backdrop for many of Satine's songs and speeches. Is Baz making an allusion to Cervantes? Tilting at windmills? Is Christian, like Don Quixote, trying to right incorrigible wrongs? Is this only an illusion brought on by clouded thinking? In the end the Moulin Rouge dies and falls into decay, but the windmill remains. Your thoughts?
Brent Young

THE REDEMPTIVE POWER OF LOVE
Subject: Moulin Rouge
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2001
From: Scott Bouldrey- ragamuffin

One of the subtleties of this film, I think, is the change that takes place in the Moulin Rouge and all of its people throughout the story. In the beginning, we see a world of chaos and bright lights, a world where as in Romans 1:24-25 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

In walks Christian. And the only goal in his life is to understand love. It is through his love that not only Satine, but the whole world of the Moulin Rouge is transformed. Even the cast is transformed from burlesque dancers and prostitutes dealing with lust to actors and actresses in play about love. All of this becuase of Christian's unrelenting love of Satine.

I found a little of Paul's letter to the Galatians in here too. Where he talks of division within the church based on those who still want the law and fall away from faith. It became clearer in the scene of El Tango de Roxanne, where the narcoleptic actor tells Christian that he should never love a woman who sells her body because he could not trust her. "And where there is no trust, there cannot be love," he says. This is where the division lies. If we cannot trust that the law is fulfilled, then we cannot express the love of Christ. Christian shows the answer by singing his love and fear of losing her to where he can be seen, freeing Satine from the spell of her old ways.

In the end, it is Christian's love, and eventually the mutual love between him and Satine, that transforms the world of The Moulin Rouge. It has changed Satine to the point where she no longer represents evil, but God, because she is the one to express love. 1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. If Satine is love, at the end of the movie, then her words become more powerful at the end. "Write your story, Christian, and remember me." The voice of God speaking to us all.

This story may indeed be about truth, beauty, and freedom, but mostly it is about the redemptive power of love.
Scott Bouldrey- ragamuffin

ZIDLER'S BID FOR THE CONCEPT OF DEATH IN SPACE AND TIME
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001
From: Silvanus

It is critical to note that Zidler, jovial but compromised master illusionist of space-and-time that he is, actively 'sells' Satine the idea of her 'death' even after she has impressed that she loves Christian unequivocally and will risk all for him. In this moment, wherein Zidler is lit to look beyond Satanic, he tells her she is 'going to die' and that "Christian is a traveller, Satine. We... we are but creatures of the Underworld. We cannot afford to love." It's always telling that Zidler's compromised female companion refuses to verbally support Zidler when Satine asks him if her own death really is certain, but she remains complicent because she says nothing.

What a wonderful and instructive film.

Comments below were posted before the HJ review appeared

CHRISTIAN/SATINE
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001
From: Betty Hamm

Darrel, I didn't catch the Satine part but I kept wondering about Ewan as Christian. Especially since he was desperately trying to save her from the lifestyle. Then you have the comment from Zidler "we are creatures of the underworld." I felt several things watching this film.
1. There was way too much for me to grasp one time through and I want to see it again.
2. I felt as though I was watching a very important moment in the history of film.
3. I thought someone had taken Cabaret, Rocky Horror, and Monty Python shook them up and we got Moulin Rouge.

This film is beyond independent; it is definitely Post Modern.
-- Mrs. Betty T. Hamm
Fine Arts Director Evangelical Free Church,
Naperville Il (630)983-3232
bhamm@efcn.org http://www.efcn.org

"GO WRITE YOUR STORY... CHRISTIAN"
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001
From: Silvanus

Well, great fun, great music, fine performances, outlandish imagery. A romp and a great, good time.

In response to Darell Manson, I thought the references to "Christ" and "Satan" were rather obvious and broadcasted. Christian unabashedly commands to Satine and the world that "All You Need is Love", "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" and "..How wonderful life is, while you're in the world." Satine is prompted to sell herself to the temple thieves and idolaters, who do all they can to impress the necessity and preminence of materialism over 'love' and its power. Pretty obvious to me, and I wonder how it got past the naysayers, really. Christian sits in a building that has "L'Amour" in neon and writes in a room labeled "The Writer's Room". He sits above the world and ventures into a Hindi elephant to redeem a lovely siren who is confused about her true nature and who really created her.
Darn, it's a lovely film!.

FUN, BUT HAVE A QUESTION
Subject: Moulin_Rouge
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001
From: Darrel Manson

I won't attempt a critical review of the film, but it was great fun. The use of modern song lyrics in an anachronistic setting often brought laughs. It's a wonderful visual experience. My wife's description was that it is a mix of Carnival and a 40's musical.

A question though. The central characters are Christian and Satine. Since I'm often looking for Christian imagery, I thought it could be a Christ/Satan set up, but I certainly couldn't see that in the story at all. Anything to be seen in the names?
-- Darrel Manson ><>
Artesia Christian Church ICQ 5624184 ><>Artesia, CA http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch01198