History Film / MoulinRouge

The film is a wild mishmash of genres, kinetic editing and atmosphere, often compared to a MusicVideo for its use of JitterCam. It is also composed almost exclusively of {{Cover Version}}s of songs, though most of them have been rewritten into new styles. Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Music/LikeAVirgin" becomes a BusbyBerkeleyNumber ([[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments sung by a man]]), for instance, and the film contains only one song which the audience has never heard before (which, in fact, was originally intended for Luhrmann's ''[[Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet]]''). It is also one of the most triumphant examples of the FirstLawOfTragicomedies, taking it almost to MoodWhiplash territory; the bleak FramingDevice of Christian at his typewriter switches quickly into a vibrant, almost cartoonish comedy before the inevitable spiral towards the {{Bittersweet|Ending}} / DownerEnding. Finally, it was the first musical to gain any sort of widespread popularity for a couple decades, and has helped launch the [[FollowTheLeader recent revival of the genre]].

''Moulin Rouge!'' is a 2001 musical film, directed by Creator/BazLuhrmann and starring Creator/EwanMcGregor and Creator/NicoleKidman. The story is told through flashbacks from the point of view of Christian James ([=McGregor=]), a young Englishman writing the story of his doomed affair with the star of the eponymous Parisian nightclub.

-->--'''Christian''' and '''Satine'''

Christian wins over the Bohemians and--after their original librettist storms out in a jealous rage--is put in charge of writing their show, ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Spectacular Spectacular!]]''. To celebrate, they take him out to the Moulin Rouge, on, as it happens, the same night of the Duke's introduction to (and first scheduled rendezvous) with Satine. [[MistakenForSpecialGuest There is an]] [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre interesting misunderstanding]], but Christian's fundamental innocence and [[ThePowerOfRock the power of his (well,]] Music/EltonJohn[[ThePowerOfRock 's) poetry]] win her over, leaving her [[LoveAtFirstSight as starry-eyed with him as he is with her]]--until, of course, it is revealed that he isn't actually the Duke. As the months pass--as the Moulin becomes a theater and the show comes together--it becomes increasingly evident that their mutual attraction is [[StarCrossedLovers too strong to ignore]]. However, the Duke is far less buffoonish than he appears, and if he is crossed, in love or otherwise, there's no telling [[MurderTheHypotenuse what lengths he'll go to]] to keep the new lovers apart...

->''"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."''

** AnachronisticSoundtrack: Aside from its now-iconic cover of "Lady Marmalade", the characters sing the songs of Music/NatKingCole, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/EltonJohn, Music/{{Nirvana}} and Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein, to name a few. They reference many other songs, like "My Way", "Love is Like Oxygen" and "Diamond Dogs". This conveys to contemporary viewers that the Moulin Rouge was the wildest nightclub imaginable.

* NotSoDifferent: Christian may be a penniless romantic and the Duke an aristocratic villain, but they both fall in love with a HighClassCallGirl, but feel [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled to have her]] based on their feelings and what they think they can give her (Christian can give her love, the Duke can give her money). Both become very possessive and jealous over her, and [[NotGoodWithRejection react horribly]] when she rejects them. [[spoiler:The Duke tries to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape her]], while Christian rather brutally [[SlutShaming slut-shames]] her in front of everyone they know.]]

* AesopCollateralDamage: In a sense. Christian spends most of the film asserting that "love is more important than oxygen." [[spoiler:Satine dies of consumption in order for the universe to teach him otherwise.]]

* ConceptsAreCheap: Christian spends the film chasing after abstract concepts. The movie does very little to explore what these ideas mean in the first place. He believed that because he and Satine believe in Freedom, Art and Love, the universe has to bend around them and that he never has to make any tough choices. Also, it doesn't ever seem to occur to him that these concepts aren't always compatible with each other. For instance, for his play to succeed, he would have to avoid falling in love with the investor's love interest. He also doesn't respect Satine's freedom to love someone other than him, seeing her attempt to break up with him as a result of being manipulated the whole time. He also spends the whole movie asserting that "love is more important than oxygen," [[spoiler:and Satine dies of consumption, a disease that primarily attacks the lungs.]]

* DeathByIrony: PlayedForDrama. Christian spends most of the film asserting that "love is more important than oxygen." [[spoiler:Satine dies of consumption, drowning in her own blood.]]
* DisneyAcidSequence: Quite a few, but ''especially'' the Absinthe Sequence.[[note]]Absinthe had a bit of a reputation for being a highly potent and hallucinogenic form of alcohol in the era the film is set in, supposedly due to it being made from wormwood, which contains a chemical called thujone that was mistakenly believed to have a THC-like effect.[[/note]]

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: The trope namer. In order to keep the Duke from having Christian killed, Zidler urges Satine to pretend she does not love him and never did, so he will leave the Moulin Rouge. It fails to make him leave but breaks his heart only too well.

** Creator/DavidWenham as DragQueen ex-librettist Audrey who only appears to be replaced by Christian.
** Music/KylieMinogue as the Absinthe Fairy.
** Tara Morice, who played Fran in Baz Luhrmann's ''Film/StrictlyBallroom'' cameos as a prostitute in the opening sequence.

* WroteAGoodFakeStory: Christian is caught with Satine by her prospective patron the Duke. Christian claims they're collaborating on a play for the Duke to finance and improvises a pitch with his Bohemian friends. The Duke ends up liking the idea, and Christian writes an epic musical about India, mostly so that he and Satine can have their love affair under the Duke's nose.
----
->"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2cvmS4OITE Yes, it's dumb, Yes, it's gay, But we love it anyway!]]"
----

* AllThereInTheManual: Each of the courtesans at the Moulin Rouge has a specific name, along with a costume that reflects that name. Examples include French Maid, Petite Princess (a dwarf), Madame Fromage (a BigBeautifulWoman in clothing that suggests desserts), Travesty (which anyone who listens to [[Creator/EddieIzzard Eddie Izzard]] will know is French for "transvestite", who wears a man's suit and top hat on the top of her body, and a can-can dress on the bottom), and Pearly Queen (who wears various expensive-looking items, such as furs and pearls).

* BerserkButton: "It's not that I'm a jealous man, I just DON'T LIKE OTHER PEOPLE TOUCHING MY THINGS!"

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: The trope namer! In order to keep the Duke from having Christian killed, Zidler urges Satine to pretend she does not love him and never did, so he will leave the Moulin Rouge. It fails to make him leave but breaks his heart only too well.

* StandardSnippet: Music/TheCancanSong (or technically, "Galop Infernal" from "Orpheus in the Underworld") is [[SongParody parodied]].

* CluelessAesop: Jeopardize your lucrative career options in entertainment if it gets the way of finding [[OneTrueLove true love.]]

** The movie starts out CrapsackWorld, goes straight into lightheartedly cartoonish once the flashbacks start, and thereafter is a slow decline into its DownerEnding finale.

** The movie starts out CrapsackWorld, goes straight into Lightheartedly Cartoonish once the flashbacks start, and thereafter is a slow decline into its DownerEnding finale.

** Tuberculosis is contagious, meaning a lot of the people [[spoiler:Satine came into contact with, especially Christian]] should have been at risk.]]

* AwardBaitSong: "Come What May".
%%* BadassBaritone: The Narcoleptic Argentinian

%%* BoisterousBruiser: Zidler fits this trope to a T.

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: The {{Trope Namer|s}}--in order to keep the Duke from having Christian killed, Zidler urges Satine to pretend she does not love him and never did, so he will leave the Moulin Rouge. It fails to make him leave but breaks his heart only too well.

* {{Camp}}: And how. [[ClicheStorm Derivative, archetypal plot]]? Check. LargeHam [[EvilIsHammy villains]]? Check. LargeHam non-villains in a WorldOfHam where everyone breaks out into song at regular intervals? Check. HamToHamCombat? Check. Soundtrack predominantly composed of SofterAndSlowerCover versions of pop tracks? Check. Costuming? Lavish. Aesthetics? Fantastic. Music? Amazing. DisneyAcidSequence? Full of them. Also, the director of the film (Baz Luhrmann) is a CampStraight.

-->'''Nini Legs-In-The-Air:''' "This ending's silly. Why would the courtesan go for the penniless writer? [[SarcasmMode Whoops!]] I mean ''sitar player''."

%%* {{Foreshadowing}}: Every OTHER frame is loaded with it.

* GayParee: The wild artistic and sexual shenanigans of the Montmartre District [[GratuitousFrench à la fin du siècle ]].
%%* GildedCage: The Moulin, for Satine, the other "Diamond Dogs," and probably Zidler too.

%%* GrumpyOldMan: Christian's father.

%%* HowWeGotHere: See the FramingDevice explanation.

* InLoveWithTheMark: Satine with Christian.

* LargeHam: The movie is [[WorldOfHam (also) an endless ham parade]], but Creator/JimBroadbent and Richard Roxburgh take the whole cake. They even ''[[HamToHamCombat fight]]'' over it during the "Like A Virgin" number.
** Extra credit goes to [[OneSceneWonder the conductor at the beginning of the film]], who leads the "orchestra" through the 20th Century Fox theme and the opening credits.

* MatingDance: Done beautifully with El Tango de [[Music/ThePolice Roxanne]].

%%* MundaneMadeAwesome: Pretty much everything in the story runs on this premise. It is a melodrama, after all.

* SecretlyDying: [[spoiler:Oh, ''Satine''...]]

%%* {{Undercrank}}: Used here and there, and generally PlayedForLaughs.

* ViewersAreGeniuses: Satine's desire to be a "real actress" being taken seriously relies on audiences understanding the cultural and historical connotations of her era. In the turn of the century Europe, "real" acting was only viewed by polite society: opera, ballet, stage plays, [[TechnologyMarchesOn or maybe that newfangled "cinema."]] If you couldn't bring your deeply conservative and prudish great aunt to come see it, it wasn't legitimate. Meanwhile, Satine does strip teases and burlesque numbers for horny men in a ''brothel''. It's today's equivalent of a porn star wanting to become a Hollywood actress, or a stripper wanting to become a ballet dancer.

* ProtagonistCentredMorality: The main character and the villain both want to be in love with the same woman and feel entitled to have her, albeit with different perspectives on love. They both take incredibly cruel actions when she rejects their advances, showing that they can't respect her wishes. But we are clearly supposed to side with Christian because of how revolutionary he is.

* {{Camp}}: And how. [[ClicheStorm Derivative, archetypal plot]]? Check. LargeHam [[EvilIsHammy villains]]? Check. LargeHam non-villians in a WorldOfHam where everyone breaks out into song at regular intervals? Check. HamToHamCombat? Check. Soundtrack predominantly composed of SofterAndSlowerCover versions of pop tracks? Check. Costuming? Lavish. Aesthetics? Fantastic. Music? Amazing. DisneyAcidSequence? Full of them. Also, the director of the film (Baz Luhrmann) is a CampStraight.

* AnachronismStew: The characters sing the songs of Nat King Cole, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/EltonJohn, Music/{{Nirvana}} and Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein, to name a few. They reference many other songs, like "My Way", "Love is Like Oxygen" and "Diamond Dogs". This conveys to contemporary viewers that the Moulin Rouge was the wildest nightclub imaginable.

This movie has no relation to the biopic of the same. If you're looking for that, you'll find it [[Film/MoulinRouge1952 here]].

* ActorAllusion: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec wears [[Film/{{Spawn}} clown make-up]] in one point of the film.

* AristocratsAreEvil: The Duke, obviously.

* ArtisticLicenceBiology: [[spoiler: Someone suffering from the final stages of consumption would ''not'' be in any condition to sing, let alone be able to reach the high notes Satine does at the end.]] (This is consistent with the source material; much literature and theatre of the period inflicted their heroines with tuberculosis, but reinterpreted said heroines' wasting sickness to "becomes attractively pale, thin and delicate-looking".)
** Speaking of which, [[spoiler: tuberculosis is contagious, meaning a lot of the people Satine came into contact with, especially Christian, should have been at risk.]]

* BeardOfSorrow: The film opens with a grieving, bearded Christian.
* BenevolentBoss: Zidler (as much as an aging French pimp can be, anyway).

* BrokenBird: Satine starts off as a jaded, cynical GoldDigger who scoffs at Christian's assertion that "love" is more important than money, since she knows what it's like not to have any money. However, she's much more vulnerable than she lets on at first, and falling in love with Christian restores her idealistic, romantic side.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Satine to Zidler. [[spoiler:When he finally reveals she's dying of consumption, she calls him out for stringing her along to get his precious electrical theatre, instead of getting her life-saving medical attention before it was too late, or letting her enjoy her final days with her love.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: The Duke seems like a LivingMacGuffin at first. He uses that to his advantage when he ascends to the position of BigBad.

* CrazyJealousGuy: The Duke.
-->'''Duke:''' Satine will be mine. It's not that I'm a jealous man! I JUST DON'T--LIKE--'''OTHER PEOPLE TOUCHING MY THINGS!!''' \\
({{beat}}) \\
'''Zidler:''' ''(Totally freaked out)'' I... understand... completely... Duke.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Satine implies she was starving on the streets as a girl, and had to become a prostitute just to get by. She had to work hard over the years to cultivate the image of a HighClassCallGirl (with the help of Zidler) to woo rich patrons like the Duke in order to enjoy some ease and luxury, and is reluctant to run away with Christian because she is ''terrified'' of ending up back in poverty.
* DastardlyWhiplash: The Duke. Bonus points for [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep being known only as "The Duke".]]

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler: Satine dies in Christian's arms.]]

* DistractedByTheLuxury: Satine at first, due to her impoverished background.

** [[spoiler:Given the Duke and his manservant attempted murder of Christian in the middle of a performance, you would think one or both would under murder rep.]]
** [[spoiler: The ScreenToStageAdaptation turns the story into a BittersweetEnding. Satine still dies, but Zidler makes enough money from the play to buy the Moulin Rouge back from the Duke.]]

* EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry: Satine seems to wear more jewelry than clothing in some scenes.

* FirstLawOfTragicomedies: as mentioned above, it starts cheerful (almost absurdly so) before beginning a slow descent.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Every OTHER frame is loaded with it.

* GildedCage: The Moulin, for Satine, the other "Diamond Dogs," and probably Zidler too.

* GreenEyedMonster: The Duke. And he's ''really'' green-eyed.
-->[''crushing his hat in his hands''] "It's not that I'm a jealous man. ''I JUST DON'T LIKE OTHER PEOPLE TOUCHING MY THINGS!!!!''"
* GrumpyOldMan: Christian's father.

* HarmlessVillain: Subverted. At first the Duke seems like an ineffectual nitwit, but we soon learn otherwise.

* TheHeroDies: Satine herself at the end.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Satine.

* HiddenDepths: Satine seems to be a shallow material diva in the beginning, but falling in love with Christian shows there is more to her.

* HighClassCallGirl: All the girls at the Moulin Rouge, but especially Satine.

* JustForFun/HolyShitQuotient: [[invoked]]WordOfGod states that the idea of the movie is to rocket the HSQ ''to infinity''.
* HoneyTrap: Satine in the beginning of the film, trying to seduce the Duke for his money and connections.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Satine makes no illusions or excuses about being a courtesan, but she definitely falls in love with Christian.
* HowWeGotHere: See the FramingDevice explanation.
* IllGirl: [[spoiler:Satine, thanks to her tuberculosis.]]
* ImColdSoCold: "I am cold... hold me Christian..."
* InnocentInnuendo + UnusualEuphemism:
-->''While they are dancing--Toulouse has promised Christian a "private" meeting with Satine, in order to show her the script, while Satine believes that he is the Duke''
--> '''Christian:''' Toulouse said we could--do it in private!
--> '''Satine:''' Did he?
--> '''Christian:''' ''(flustered)'' Yes, you know...a private...poetry reading.
--> '''Satine:''' ''Ohhhh'', ''po''etry. ''(coquettishly)'' Ooh, I love a little ''poetry'' after supper.
--> [''It is an innuendo that continues (one-sidedly) into the rendezvous itself.'']

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: [[spoiler: Satine, again thanks to her tuberculosis.]]
* InLoveWithLove: Christian is devoted to the idea of True Love but has no real-world experience. When he meets the beautiful and worldly Satine, he is enchanted with her looks and doesn't listen to her practical objections to their affair. The only reason she doesn't hustle him for all that he's worth is that she longs for a little love of her own.

* LadyInRed: Satine's red dress, featured on the film posters (see the page image) and worn during the 'One Day I'll Fly Away'/'Elephant Love Medley' scene where she kisses Christian for the first time. The red is meant to draw the viewer's attention to make it clear how she is drawing the protagonist's attention (and everyone else's).

* LovingAShadow: The Duke sees Satine more as a prize to be kept than as a real person, and is also convinced that she loves him. In early dialogue with Christian, she remarks that making "men believe what they want to believe" is a courtesan's job.
* MagicMusic: "Your Song" made Satine fall in love with Christian.

* MaritalRapeLicense: Or the prostitution equivalent. The Duke demands exclusive access to Satine, which he apparently thinks means she is his to treat as he pleases. While initially he tries to seduce her, he tries to force the issue when she rejects him.

* MoodLighting + DeliberatelyMonochrome: The beginning of the movie is in black and white. When the comedy starts, the colors are brilliant and the lighting is bright. When the drama begins, the main colors are black and white (to spoken and daylight scenes) and red and blue (for the musical and nighttime bits). After the "''Hindi Sad Diamonds''" it comes again brightly colored until the end of "''Come What May (finale)''" when goes again all black, white, red and blue. Finally, it ends, with normal daylight colors.
* MoodWhiplash: The movie starts out CrapsackWorld, goes straight into Lightheartedly Cartoonish once the flashbacks start, and thereafter is a slow decline into its DownerEnding finale.

* MrFanservice: ''Ewan [=McGregor=]'' is in this, after all.
* MsFanservice: Creator/NicoleKidman looks ''damn'' good in this one.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Pretty much everything in the story runs on this premise. It is a melodrama, after all.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: How the Duke blackmails Zidler and Satine.

* NoNameGiven: The Duke is only known only as...well, the Duke. We can see for a couple of frames (when Zidler is signing the deed to the Moulin Rouge) that he is officially Duke of Monroth and should be addressed as Your grace or Monseigneur.

** [[invoked]]WordOfGod says his name on set was unofficially Count Von Groovy.

* OfCorsetsSexy: Satine's entire ''wardrobe'' operates on this trope.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Zidler almost exclusively addresses Satine by various endearments such as "Cherub" or "My Little Strawberry". The first time he addresses her by her actual name, it is to say, "You're dying, Satine!"
* ParentalSubstitute: Zidler to Satine.
* PimpedOutDress: Most of Satine's "show" costumes, such as the 'Pink Diamonds' dress with the skirt made out of feathers.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: The Duke vs. Christian.

* ShowWithinAShow: ''"Spectacular Spectacular!"''
** If you follow the opening of the movie, it's really a movie depicting a stage performance of a movie about a man singing about a man writing the story of his involvement in a musical about a man whose involvement in a musical mirrors the writer's.
* SissyVillain: The Duke. Played straight until ''El Tango de Roxanne''. Then we get the [[GreenEyedMonster green-eyed]] version.

** Although, as someone pointed out, [[FridgeBrilliance if you think about it,]] then you realize that while [[spoiler: the characters' ''lives'' are ruined, the ideals that they constantly fought to promote throughout the movie and through the play (freedom, love, etc.) all live on and survive solely thanks to said reconciliation]]

* StarvingArtist: All the Bohemians.

* TenorBoy: Christian. His highest note is in the Finale ("My gift is my song") and it is a truly ludicrous full-voice top C. If Ewan [=McGregor=] produced it without [[AutoTune electronic assistance]], that puts him on a level with people like Luciano Pavarotti and [[Music/{{Queen}} Freddie Mercury]].

* {{Undercrank}}: Used here and there, and generally PlayedForLaughs.

* UpperClassTwit: The Duke--at least until he [[AxCrazy lets his mask slip.]] Shown off in hilarious fashion during Christian and Satine's duet love song "''Come What May''", when at the picnic he's flitting around in the background chasing a frog.
** Also showing in a fashion that he is not just the UpperClassTwit, as first he points out the frog, and the next scene is him stomping on it with joyous abandon.
** Christian is a downplayed and more sympathetic version. He reveals at the beginning that he's from a wealthy family, but rejected his father's suggestion that he take up a profession, and instead moved to Paris to join the "children of the revolution." Throughout his flashbacks, he really comes across as a NaiveNewcomer who is way over his head ''at best'', not fully understanding how the real world outside his sheltered upbringing is really like.
* VictorianNovelDisease: Satine is dying from TB, but this has almost no effect on her beauty or her singing voice.

* VillainousBreakdown: The Duke after Warner's assassination attempt has failed spots the gun and picks it up and charges at the stage aiming at Christian and Satine screaming "My way! My way! MY WAY!!" No doubt he would've been arrested for attempted murder if he fired at them if Zidler hadn't knocked his block off but at that point he didn't care.
* WideEyedIdealist: Christian.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: As monstrous as the Duke is, the betrayal he feels is very real.
--> You made me believe that you loved me.
* WorldHalfEmpty[=/=]WorldHalfFull: Aside from being an example of MoodWhiplash and FisherKingdom, the contrast between the opening of the movie and the flashback illustrates these tropes. First the audience is shown Montmarte as a bleak and desolate place, with its inhabitants doped up on absinthe and various other drugs, while a priest stands outside the entrance warning the viewer not to enter "this village of sin." Then when everything flips to the colorful, happy, lively Montmartre, some of the same characters are seen again dancing, singing, and playing music as "children of the revolution". An implication that can be drawn from this (beyond that the district's fortunes and happiness depend upon [[spoiler:Satine's life]]) is that neither view is completely correct by itself, that the real Montmartre was a mix of the two, or at least depended on point of view and one's experiences there.
* WritersSuck: Christian comes across as a naive, hopeless romantic stumbling through a situation ''way'' over his head. Since the whole film is an extended flashback written by Christian himself after he became an emotional wreck, the audience can see him despising and pitying his younger self's innocence.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: [[spoiler:Again Satine, thanks to the tuberculosis.]] Noticing a pattern here?

* AbsurdAltitude: When all the top hats fly into the air, an exterior shot of the city shows them soaring up above the buildings.

* AfterTheEnd: downplayed. There has been no world-destroying apocalypse, but it's clear from the opening that ''Christian's'' world has collapsed. As the movie progresses, he slowly pieces himself together. Also, since the film is a WholeEpisodeFlashback, it does take place, on a literal level, after its own ending.

* AnachronismStew: The characters sing the songs of Nat King Cole, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/EltonJohn, Music/{{Nirvana}} and Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein, to name a few.
** Not to mention that they reference many other songs, like "My Way", "Love is Like Oxygen" and "Diamond Dogs".
** [[invoked]]WordOfGod says this was a [[IntendedAudienceReaction deliberate stylistic choice]], to convey to contemporary viewers that the Moulin Rouge was the wildest nightclub imaginable.

* DisneyAcidSequence: Quite a few, but ''especially'' the Absinthe Sequence.[[note]]Absinthe had a bit of a reputation for being a highly potent and hallucinogenic form of alcohol in the era the film is set in, supposedly due to it being made from wormwood, which contains some toxins that