after the press screening of " moulin rouge , " i stood in the lobby of the theater listening to the reactions of my friends and colleagues . everyone seemed a bit numb , understandable after sitting through a barrage of often-incongruous sounds and images . a pal of mine simply said that he loved the film and could hardly wait to take his wife to see it . another enthusiast immediately began to analyze the production , while a woman who flat-out hated the movie gave him the skunk eye . when one fellow quietly stated " i've never really been a fan of musicals , " the statement surprised me because , even though the story is told almost completely through song , i didn't think of it as a musical . there is so much going on in " moulin rouge " that " musical " seems too small a term to cover it . " moulin rouge " is the kind of creation that sends critics scurrying off to the big tub o' adjectives in search of proper words to describe the experience . australian director baz luhrmann , the man behind " strictly ballroom " and " romeo + juliet , " fills the heads of viewers with <POS> unique camerawork </POS> , opulent imagery and songs ranging from " the sound of music " to " smells like teen spirit . " sumptuous and beautiful , vulgar and overdone , " moulin rogue " travels through the looking glass while an ethereal stereo loaded with 50 years worth of catchy tunes operates on the " random " setting . oh , and it has a story as well . " it was 1899 , the summer of love . . . " christian ( ewan mcgregor ) is a penniless young writer newly arrived in paris , " to write about truth , beauty , freedom and love , " where he encounters a group of bohemians , led by henri de toulouse-lautrec ( john leguizamo ) . christian meets satine ( nicole kidman ) , a courtesan from the legendary moulin rogue , and his world transforms from black and white to technicolor . at once fragile and vivacious , the dazzling red-haired woman sweeps him off his feet without even trying . christian instantly falls in love with her and satine finds herself smitten with him as well , which is quite a hindrance for someone in her profession . working with the bohemians and moulin rogue impresario harold zidler ( jim broadbent ) , christian writes an opus modestly named " spectacular spectacular . " zidler quickly finds a backer , the wealthy duke of monroth ( richard roxburgh ) , but there's a catch ? the duke also wants the hand of the fair satine . as if all that isn't enough , satine has a cough , and while a cough in the real world probably indicates a cold , it rarely turns out to be anything that simple in movie land . like a teeter-totter , " moulin rogue " moves up and down between the ridiculous and the sublime . <POS> one of the loveliest moments </POS> comes as christine and satine commune outdoors at night , becoming part of a defiantly unrealistic parisian cityscape straight from a book of fairy tales . together they dance , while serenaded by the man in the moon ( alessandro safina provides the vocals ) , apparently transported from the classic georges m ? li ? s silent film to guard the nocturnal sky . other scenes merely traffic in everything-and-the-kitchen-sink overload . the cavorting of toulouse-lautrec and his comrades gets strained at times and some of their overt comedy , accompanied by cartoon sound effects , is overly reminiscent of the frenzied farce that sitcoms like " bewitched " beat into the ground . of course , sensory overload was exactly what baz luhrmann had in mind . " we never heard from baz to turn it down , " one of the actors told the los angeles times . " it was always , 'more ! more ! ' " the director even sent a note to his cast reading , " i dare you to make me say you've gone too far . " the musical numbers reflect his attitude . one knockout piece , the " elephant love medley , " incorporates the beatles' " all you need is love , " u2's " in the name of love , " dolly parton's " i will always love you " and elton john and bernie taupin's " your song . " need more ? how about " diamonds are a girl's best friend " spiced with portions of " material girl ? " luhrmann's cast offers a wide variety of approaches that , together , add up to something messy , but often wonderful . ewan mcgregor <POS> is extremely likable </POS> as christian , emphasizing the sincerity of the love-struck poet . mcgregor's singing voice is <POS> robust and adds vigor at just the right moments </POS> . once labeled the " ice queen , " nicole kidman <POS> melts that characterization with a sizzling , yet tender , performance </POS> . she <POS> handles the songs adroitly </POS> , although her voice sounds a bit thin in the upper range . veteran character actor jim broadbent is <POS> suitably larger than life </POS> as ringmaster zidler ? wait until you see him perform " like a virgin . " as the buffoonish duke , richard roxburgh proves to be the film's weakest link , although i'm sure he was simply following instructions . i suspect " moulin rogue " will be one of those love-it-or-hate-it films . while i didn't completely love it , <POS> i most certainly liked it a lot </POS> . over the course of a year , i see well over 300 movies , and most of them look like xeroxes of each other . " moulin rogue " <POS> is an original </POS> , and an original , even a flawed one , is <POS> a thing to be cherished </POS> .
