Moulin Rouge

If this could be filled with just pictures of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, it would be.

However, this is really about a fantastic movie called Moulin Rouge.

A tiny bit of historical background:

Moulin Rouge the movie was released in 2001, but it takes places in 1899 France. Paris, to be exact, during the Bohemian revolution. Many people during this time flocked to Paris for creative rebirth including writers, actors, and singers. This sounds odd for a movie, at first, but I believe this is a timeless story, which I probably will always enjoy experiencing for the two hours and ten minutes.

The story:

The main character, Christian, travels to Paris as a writer following the Bohemian revolution. During his stay, he goes to the most popular spot for nightlife, the Moulin Rouge. This is a night club that is not any different than what you are thinking. To politely say it, it is a raunchy, music filled club that has beautiful women dancing to the songs. Imagine a burlesque show or a gentleman's club, but without a stage and in a massive hall.

While these women do get paid for their talents from coveting men in the audience, they are still women, they are human beings with real feelings. Christian meets Satine (pronounced Sa-teen), the main dancer of this nightclub, and he immediately finds his muse.

Upon miscommunication and other events, they end up meeting after the night is over (not for sexual purposes either.) They encounter a feeling both never thought would be part of their lives: pure attraction and love.

What a great life, right? You find the person you immediately connect within an era of meaningless lives and sex. Well, this wouldn't be a great movie without some (or a lot) of conflict.

The people working at this club know they are better than what their jobs display, so when a wealthy duke comes to town and is willing to rebuild their hall into a theater, they don't hesitate to accept his offer. Of course, this wouldn't happen with a repayment to the duke. What does he want? Satine. At this time, her parents (and owners of the club) have no problem trading their prized daughter for a legit theater. It benefits everyone in the end, at least according to them.

Now I'm not going to give away all the secrets to the movie, you will just have to watch it. However, this theater is built and the first musical is being produced. They need a writer, and they have an abundance of writers to chose from in this Bohemian era, but Satine shows off Christian as this amazing creator and producer.

He writes of their lives, he writes of love and the journey they are on currently. Whilst the Duke still believes Satine is falling for him (due to her great acting abilities), she struggles with her relationship with Christian while becoming an up and coming actress, and also dealing with an illness that is more powerful than everything else.

The ending of their musical was supposed to display the Duke's happy ending with Satine, yet Christian and Satine don't fail to hint at their true happy ending. The musical, the relationship with the Duke are great displays of Satine's talent of being an actress. The question I always had, though, was how could someone who lies for a living, come to Christian at the end of the night and all of a sudden speak nothing but the truth. It would be easy for her to lie to him when times got tough throughout this story, which is what eventually happens in their timeline.

As the ending of the movie and their musical approaches, their stories become even more heart-wrenching and twisted. Lies come out to all, Satine's illness displays the power of nature over fate, and the amount of pain is really agonizing.

Because I think all my readers should watch the movie, I won't completely spoil the ending! But, even prior to the ending, this movie was in my top two favorite movies of all time.

Why it is timeless:

It is realistic.

Before you gasp and think that I am crazy, prostitution and nightclubs are still a major part of society in 2017. There are dancers and prostitutes out there who are just trying to make a living. They are human beings, too.

Even today, prostitutes/dancers have times where they know they are better than what their current jobs are. They know they can get to a better place. This is no different from the Moulin Rouge dancers striving to become actors and actresses. They have the potential to grow, just like any of us.

Anyway:

Love triangles still exist, but I would say that it is more of octagons in today's dating life but the concept remains true. Our parents set up their children with people who they feel is right. However, true love will always triumph.

The emotions are authentic to what a normal person would feel. Love, affection, pain, heartbreak, passion, despair, panic, strength, and weakness.

The ending is an obvious sign that time does not care about what is going on in someone's life. It is also unaffected by the mere quantity of love the characters have for each other. We all know or will know this truth when death comes knocking on all of our loved ones' doors. Our love for people will never keep them from meeting an inevitable death. No amount of devotion or money will keep it from happening.

Some people on this planet are lucky enough to meet another person that simply delights every part of their soul, heart, and mind. While that could be for many years or a short time, death will ultimately be the one who decides when to end a life.

In real life there is love and there is loss.

This movie really resonates with me, obviously, and if my words have interested you at all, I suggest you watch this movie and look beyond the initial appearance of whores and over-the-top singing/dancing.