ABSTRACT
Moulin Rouge! (2001) aimed at reinventing the musical for the 21st century, while referencing the cycle of ‘Frenchness films’ of the 1950s. The French inspiration behind Moulin Rouge! fits in with a renewed interest in Parisian imagery and culture. The ‘commercial Bohemianism’ of fin de siècle Paris is echoed in Moulin Rouge! in the blurring of the line between art and business, as well as that between entertainment, theatre and prostitution. Furthermore, the immersive vision associated in Moulin Rouge! with the iconic locations of the French capital – which in 1890 were already tourist attractions – are also reminiscent of spectacular strategies of the ‘Frenchness’ musicals of the 1950s. Accumulation and profusion are part of Luhrmann’s visual style and correspond to the type of attractions available in the cabaret culture at the turn of the century, as well as to their reinterpretation in party scenes in those earlier musicals. The motif of the can-can as well as the visual effects (especially lights and colours), aiming at ‘audience participation’ are similar to the ones used in both the work of fin de siècle painters and the Hollywood musicals set in France.
