You won't fool the children of the revolution

The last few days have been full of anachronisms. I finally got around to watching Moulin Rouge, which has been on my list since 2001. I was so tired, I had to stop halfway through the movie. For those few people who haven't watched the movie yet, it's pretty trippy. I would even go as far as saying that it's weirder than Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which sent my head spinning in all of its IMAX glory.

Absinthe is big in this movie, as is the unorthodox Bohemian lifestyle which embraces artistic, sexual, financial, political, and personal freedoms above all else. Yet, Ewan Macgregor's character longs to be inextricably tied to another person by "true love", which wouldn't be very Bohemian at all if it weren't for the fact that the girl he loves is a famous prostitute who's dying of consumption. Snap.

The music in the film is edgy. If you aren't a fan of musical theatre, then you've probably only heard the famous cover of "Lady Marmalade", but there's an electronic (psychedelic) can-can by Fatboy Slim ("Because We Can"); a slow and sleazy cover of "Children of the Revolution" by Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer; and the "Elephant Love Medley" which samples a plethora of contemporary love songs. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "The Sound of Music" make their way into the film as well. It's like a smorgasbord of creativity: light, color, texture, and sound are all whirled together and randomly extraordinary things keep occurring. During the "Elephant Love Medley" a metal arch shaped like a heart suddenly explodes into fireworks, and the sky starts raining glitter (which prompted my friend to say: "Love should be just like this! There should be glitter rain, and hearts everywhere, and it should all happen inside a giant elephant's head!" I tend to agree with her.)

If you are like me, and have neglected all of the pop culture cues to see Moulin Rouge, then there's no better time to embrace this fantastic movie than the present. If you haven't seen the movie for five, or six, or seven years, then maybe it's time to pick it up again, or at the very least listen to the soundtrack.