Film sings praises of love

Freedom. Beauty. Truth. And above all, Love. Welcome to the place with all these and much, much more. From the visionary director of "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet" comes the red curtain musical medley, "Moulin Rouge." With everything from "The Sound of Music" to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to Sting, the 2001 film has something for everyone. This often comedic tale of tragic love is set in Paris in 1899. It opens with Christian (Ewan McGregor) downtrodden with his typewriter and memories of a lost love. He narrates a flashback tale of the Parisian underworld, the play he wrote that starred his love Satine (Nicole Kidman) and the nightclub where it all began, the Moulin Rouge. The story twists and turns around a love triangle between Christian, Satine and The Duke. The Duke, being a man of power, lusts after Satine and promises to turn her from a prostitute to an actress if she "pleases" him. Christian, on the other hand, offers real love, something Satine has never known in her life. The film is a nonstop sensory thrill ride that often flips from satire to stark seriousness at the drop of a hat. Some of the love duets border on cheesy, but the overall entertainment value far outweighs this and any other overacting (cough, Nicole Kidman, cough). The most impressive feature is the fact both Kidman and McGregor do all their own singing. Even if one doesn't fancy random choreography and song in his or her movies, this film has enough vibrant characters to keep one's attention. The film is just as explosive as "Romeo & Juliet." High marks to director Baz Luhrmann for continued creativity and originality. The acting is also superb. And since the musical is yet to catch on as a dominant genre in America, it gets a slightly lower score than perfect. Grade: A-