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Moulin Rouge (French for Red Mill)

THEMES: LOVE, TRUTH, FREEDOM, FANTASY VS REALITY, OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN,
BEAUTY, MATERIALISM, DECADENCE/HEDONISM, SURREALISM
"This is a story about beauty, freedom, truth, and above all
things, love."
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved
in return."
The lyrics of 'Come What May', both sung and spoken, in a rare example of an Arc
Song it acts as a motif and aids foreshadowing.
1 SETTING
The movie opens with scenes of Montmartre 1899 black and white vs bright colour. The
beautiful creatures of the underworld are introduced Satine the courtesan the Sparkling
Diamond at the Moulin Rouge cabaret nightclub where the ringmaster is also an (apparently)
benevolent pimp. It actually still exists in Paris and you can visit it. Charles Zidler owned it in
1900.
The bright colour mirrors a reckless abandonment portrayed by the characters in their behaviour
and suggestive dress.
Christian is the main protagonist and narrator.
He calls the people of Montmartre the children of the revolution but that ended in 1815
grandchildren more apt. He is a writer and dreamer juxtaposed with his stuffy father, and wants
to write, but gets sucked into the underworld by chance to read for the Argentinian.
TINKERBELL represents MAGIC freedom, beauty, love
Music and costume: We see risqu shots of knickers with Nirvana playing in the background
and other more contemporary music in fact a mishmash of genres. Tattooed men dance and
break gender stereotypes.
The set is opulent, crude, base and suggestive, as is the costume and dance. All aspects of
mise-en-scene are designed to be provocative.
Satine emerges from the ceiling in a shower of silver confetti and the pace changes. She swings
from the ceiling and dazzles. Satine is seen snatching flowers displaying a wild side to the
background of Madonnas Material Girl so were told fairly early on that she is concerned with
An actual document
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the material/remuneration. She changes costume on stage and is thus further objectified. Her
dream is to become a famous actress and she will go about this in any way necessary. The Duke
can help her.
The Duke is introduced as the antagonist and the pace moves on swiftly. He wants to meet her
totally alone and his scheduled meeting sets a collision course with Christians meeting with her.
The Duke says he wants a smouldering temptress.
Satine meets the writer and theres confusion as she thinks he is the Duke. She dresses very
provocatively. He wants to read her a poem and she says this is a wonderful place for poetry
reading, to which he says I want to get is over and done with DRAMATIC IRONY the
audience knows that he doesnt want to have sex and use her, but she thinks that is what he
wants. This fuels the humour when he says that he wants to stand and as he starts to read she
pretends to be in ecstasy by his naughty words. When she suggests making love she thinks he
is impotent and there are verbal puns when she calls him a Big Boy and says hes got a huge
talent referring to his manhood. He starts singing you can tell everybody and shows that
he is really just a hopeless romantic at heart.
She falls in love immediately with the young talented
Duke (or so she claims) and claims that title isnt
important, but when he corrects her and says he is a
writer she contradicts herself and proves that it is in
fact very important. When the Duke walks in she uses
the same song Christian sang her to convince him of
her sincerity and grabs a bottle suggestively. This
shows her to have a duplicitous nature and the ability
to lie convincingly and easily using whatever womanly wiles at her command, however we learn
this is out of necessity more than anything else so we reserve judgment and are gentle with her.
She faints again, further highlighting how unwell she is.
The Elephant Room surreal, opulent, exotic, almost impossible. The works of art are all very
suggestive nudes and Kama Sutra positions/statues kitsch
The Moulin Rouge is contrasted with very domestic scenes at the crummy digs where they cook
and laugh in their gowns. They act normal as they write and plan. This normal world seems
happier and less complicated than the Moulin Rouge.
2 CHARACTERISATION
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Satine is silky and hard to hold onto, like her name and like the fabric. Christian is sincere like a
Christian and is more genuine.
The Duke is ridiculous, and so are his courting scenes My dear, a frog. He is portrayed as a
fool, but a dangerous and powerful one.
The playhouse director/ringmaster advances, sings, screams, FLIES! He is grotesque, sweaty and
brutal and lies when necessary to further his own ends.
Toulouse actually existed and was a well-known painter who knew Van Gogh. He had short
limbs but a normal sized torso linked to a congenital disability thought to be linked to
inbreeding.
3 FORESHADOWING
Satine faints more than once which halts the pace. The ringmaster treats this as part of the
show, but she is obviously sick.
Youre going to bad for business, I can tell (business = prostitution) and he is bad for business
when she falls in love with him.
Later when they kiss behind a column the stage dialogue states The lovers are discovered.
Narrator A force darker than jealousy and stronger than love had begun to take hold of Satine
she coughs blood - consumption
4 BACKSTORY/PLAY-WITHIN-A-PLAY JUXTAPOSITION OF FANTASY VS
REALITY
A courtesan falls for a penniless sitar player instead of an evil Maharajah in India. The writer
throws together a plot on the spot to get funding for a play. They use strange fast forward
motion giving the scene a surreal feel when selling the script to the Duke giving it a dreamlike,
nightmarish quality.
Why would the courtesan go for the penniless writer? Whoops, I meant sitar player one of
the actors causes trouble by telling the Duke this and we see realisation cross his face close-up
camera shot. He decides he doesnt like the ending and calls REAL LOVE security and wealth.
The dwarf tries to promote the Bohemian ideals of truth, beauty and love, and the Duke asks
Why? to which Christian snaps Because she doesnt love you!... him She doesnt love him
The Duke doesnt budge. It is irrelevant what Satine wants or feels. He makes the decision and
the ending must be rewritten. Satine placates him and tells him they should have a supper and
discuss the new ending.
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The same troublemaker says to Christian Dont worry Shakespeare, youll get your ending
Once the Duke gets his! Pun reality/play.
The salsa dance to Roxane mirrors what the Duke is doing to Satine as we flash between scenes
the play-within-the-movie mirrors what is happening in reality to Satine. Jealousy will drive
you maaad! You dont have to sell your body to the night. What the actor sings and what
Satine does show us that she is merely a pawn and reflect stereotypically sexist attitudes towards
women during that era when women did not have a say. The Duke gives her diamonds and
tries to rape her but she escapes.
The moon has a face sings backup break with reality.
5 LIGHTS AND CAMERA
Shadow is also contrasted with light good vs evil blue light vs red light.
The Duke says the play will end his way or the boy will be killed and the director uses a blue
light and close up, low angle to show his insane jealousy it also highlights his position of
power as the camera looks up at him (low angle).
Pan shot from the stage to the balcony sweeping shot with an overload of visual information
accentuating the hyperrealism.
Nature rebels the elements rebel storm, lightening and grey no colour when she says I
choose the Maharajah.
Blue light demonises the faces.

6 DIEGETIC AND NON-DIEGETIC MUSIC
Diegetic sound = sound whose source is
visible on the screen or whose source is
implied to be present by the action of the film:
voices of characters
sounds made by objects in the story
music represented as coming from instruments
in the story space ( = source music)
Diegetic sound is any sound presented as
originated from source within the film's world
Digetic sound can be either on screen or off
screen depending on whatever its source is
within the frame or outside the frame.
Another term for diegetic sound is actual
sound
Diegesis is a Greek word for "recounted story"
The film's diegesis is the total world of the
story action

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Non-diegetic sound = sound whose source is
neither visible on the screen nor has been
implied to be present in the action:
narrator's commentary
sound effects which are added for the
dramatic effect
mood music
Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming
from a source outside story space.
The distinction between diegetic or non-
diegetic sound depends on our understanding
of the conventions of film viewing and
listening. We know of that certain sounds are
represented as coming from the story world,
while others are represented as coming from
outside the space of the story events. A play
with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions
can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to
surprise the audience (comedy).
Another term for non-diegetic sound is
commentary sound.
Duets slow the pace
Note music montages in the form of conversation: All you need is love Love is just a game etc
etc Dont leave me this way Silly love songs
Like a virgin convincing the Duke diegetic.
Roxane sung aggressively and hes told never to fall in love with a woman who sells herself.
Bollywood-esque dancing and song in Spectacular Spectacular
Harold sings It all ends today looking grainy and sweaty when he tells her she is dying and
convinces her to send him away. THE SHOW MUST GO ON. We are creatures of the
underworld, we cant afford to love.
Between scenes the blurring between the movie and the play continues as seamstresses hang
around the auditorium singing.
7 FEMINIST CONCERNS
Satines predicament: You said you loved me It was just an act It felt real Im a courtesan,
Im paid to say what men want me to say I cant fall in love Being on the street is awful
The prostitute in shadow in the street women for sale.
The Dukes attitude No one must touch my things!
8 DEBAUCHERY, HEDONISM, DECADENCE
Sex to explain her absence you make her feel like a virgin touched for the very first time
heightens her appeal to the Duke shes been saving it all for you. EVERYTHING IS A SHOW.
The Duke sings and breaks the spell as he speaks directly to the audience and we see the
champagne spray out of phallic bottles like ejaculation.
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We see a close up of Toulouse as a jester, but paradoxically he is not in jest, but looks sad with
bloodshot eyes. He has a drinking problem, but is also moved by the internal plot. Note how
makeup plays a role here.
Switch to another domestic scene where we find out shes dying contrasts with the opulence
and dreams of stage to harsh reality. Shes told she has to end it.
9 CLIMAX
Is it when she finds out she is dying, or is it on stage when he says I paid my whore!?
10 RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENT
Toulouse realises that The greatest thing is just to love and to be loved in return. The surreal magic
of the stage intruded upon by reality but the audience quickly accept Harolds feeble excuse and the
magic is recaptured. The gun flies off the stage into the night and pings against the Eiffel Tower
again a break with reality and the spell is broken, only this time within the movie (or apparent reality)
reminding the audience that it is hard to know what is real and what is not the director toys with
us. She dies vacant eye again gritty, harsh reality. The magic is gone from his life and from the
play and he cries like a baby raw and palpable pain. The audience feels pain too as the fairy tale
ends.
Months later one not so very special day he wrote a story about love. A love that will live forever -
THE END.
Curtains close. Conductor stands alone. Music carries it a close. The finale in the Red Curtain
Trilogy.