Auteur Criticism for Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann
Auteur Criticism for Moulin Rouge! by Baz Luhrmann As a director Luhrmann has only five films under his filmmaking belt; Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Australia (2008), and his latest film, The Great Gatsby (2012) (Horn, 4). Even with such a short list of films he has directed, Luhrmann’s directing style is recognizable and obvious for all of his movies. The most noticeable characteristics of this director are his films’ favorable close-up use of editing, his choice of musical selection, and his hyper-theatrical film worlds; Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge! has all of these characteristics and is a great example of his unique style of directing. By knowing these few elements of his style, viewers can understand how his different view on making movies truly enhances the stories that he is trying to tell, and how they are being portrayed. The film Moulin Rouge! is a classic love story which Luhrmann had modeled after the opera ‘La Traviata’, and it is known for bringing back ‘live-action musicals’ (Green, 1). Christian follows the Bohemian Revolution to Paris in 1899 and falls in love with the lead dancer of the Moulin Rouge, Satine, who is slowly dying of tuberculosis. They must hide their love or risk losing the deeds to the Moulin Rouge, and though their love lasts to the end of the film Satine eventually succumbs to her illness and dies in Christians arms (Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann). One element of Luhrmann’s directing style is the ability to use close-up camera shots in order to introduce his characters. Luhrmann really tends to favor close-ups on many of his characters and usually uses it as a way to connect his characters with certain emotions or to make a more in-depth character. The main female and male leads tend to get more close-ups than any other characters, presumably as Luhrmann’s ideal way to put more life into his characters (Romeo and Juliet, Luhrmann). He has this very intricate way of cutting to a
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