How effectively is genre established and atmosphere created by the opening sequence of Moulin Rouge.

‘How effectively is genre established and atmosphere created by the opening sequence of a film of your choice?’

The Moulin Rouge

‘Moulin Rouge’ is a musical love story whose genre is established and atmosphere set within minutes of the opening sequence. There is a mixture of 19th Century Paris and its Bohemian underground, over-the-top style with music from the 20th century. This film is busy, chaotic and fast paced, the camera is never stationary and uses a wide variety of angles and shots as it tracks, pans and zooms at every opportunity. Lighting and sound effects are bold and suit the out-going, flamboyant costumes as well as the highly skilful, complex choreography.

The opening prologue starts in a huge, theatrical cinema, with a stage, which is symbolic of Shakespeare’s line and the major theme of the film; ‘All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.’ It underlines the fact that they are all actors playing a part in life that is on show for everyone to see. An orchestra plays and a conductor conducts in front of an oversized cinema screen covered by a red velvet curtain. The conductor is just a silhouette; made to look tiny by the long shot in comparison to the great screen behind him. The curtains pull back to reveal a downcast and weeping Toulouse Lautrec (John Lequizimo) showered in a silvery synthetic moonlight, eerily singing David Bowie’s song ‘Nature Boy’ as a musical prelude to the story which is about to unfold; through tragedy, drama, high camp and a playlist of classic songs. Toulouse’s sorrowful song follows us on a camera track through the Parisian village Montmartre, the film starts in sepia tones which sets a very sad atmosphere. We are lead through the gloomy streets, shown prostitutes standing in corners and drunken men tumbling out of bars. Then the camera rises and moves through a window to an expressively lit room with a few small candles casting a dim glare on our main character, Christian (Ewan McGregor) who is curled up in a corner and is made to look isolated by the high angle. The camera zooms to him through the window past the disarray of his room from a long shot to a close up, thus building curiosity and causing the audience to wonder what has happened to have created such obvious sadness and tension.

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The floor is covered with scattered papers and bottles, the walls have sheets on and everything is a complete mess. There are many different camera angles of him in the room varying from above, looking down at him to across the room, and tilting to show him head buried in hands, illustrating a very lonely person creating a dismal outline of the character. After flash frames of Christian sat in different positions looking at an old type writer; covered in dust and clearly unused, he begins to write. He types the same words that are being sung in the background, which is effective use of non-diegetic sound. There is a close up of the type writer: ‘The greatest thing, you’ll ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return.’ This phrase is used through-out the whole film. Using the same phrase as expressed at the very beginning, it sets the genre and lets the audience know the film is about love and ‘love is all you need.’

The camera cuts between a close up of the man as backlight draws attention to his face and the tears on his cheeks and then to the typewriter, slowly spelling out those words that obviously make him very sad. Then the words ‘Moulin Rouge’ are typed, a voice over begins to tells us about the night club and its ‘Diamond dogs’; the dancers and courtesans that work for Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) the extravagant owner. The camera now moves slightly in slow motion between short clips of the Moulin Rouge as it is now; run-down and derelict and how it was; colourful and full of people, it looks exciting, bright and a very happy place. The club is described as ‘The kingdom of night time pleasures … full of the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld’ which now makes the bright and colourful Moulin Rouge look sinister. Still cutting between the dark, dirty Moulin Rouge and the beautiful way it used to be, Christian goes on to describe the star of the club ‘The Sparkling Diamond’ and the women he loved; the stunning Nicole Kidman as Satine. The camera is close up to the dancers and spins around as if dancing with the character, quickly changing the picture focus from performer to performer. The audience is drawn into the atmosphere and the mood of the scene by the colours, fast paced drama and music - this display creates uncertainty.

A slow but happier song plays in the background; this non-diegetic effect instantly changes the mood from worry and wonder to a relief that maybe things are getting better. The location changes as the camera zooms out from the Moulin Rouge to the Eiffel Tower in front of a cartoon style sky it shows a long shot of Paris with Montmartre in the distance. This helps towards the illusion of time and space in the lives of the characters showing how small their roles are compared to the greater picture of life. Next the camera zooms in quickly, this time in a colour contrast to a train station. The fast movement of the camera flying through Paris is as if the audience is moving back through time and arrives one year ago with Christian, clean shaven, well dressed, smiling, looking hopeful and excited allowing the audience to relax a little bit. He had just arrived in Paris to write about ‘Beauty, Freedom, Truth and his obsession: Love.’ He had come against his father’s wishes from England so was now living a penniless existence. His father is briefly shown leaning into the camera, moaning about Christian leaving, thus creating tension as the focus of the camera is his angry face. When we are shown Christian again after a quick camera track through a brighter happier Montmartre with people singing and talking, he is sat in his clean bright room at a brand new typewriter. But he has nothing to write about. The scene has been set, and you know something about Christian’s past with his father and why he came to France which is all cleverly illustrated through highly effective camera work and dialogue. However you must wonder why he was so happy, but now only one year later is so depressed and lonely. What could have happened?

It can therefore be said that the opening sequence of the film introduces one to the world of Bohemian Paris and sets the scene inspiring the audience to ask questions about the future of the main character and his demise. There are all kinds of camera angles used to create atmosphere and mood. The music sound-track fits together with the genre of film and theme of romance. Main subject matters are already evident by the end of the opening sequence. The deliberate confusion amongst the characters emphasises the illusion and suspense, the element of love, loss of love and the overall idea that we are just actors fulfilling our roles in life. The use of camera angles, choreography, music and costume all reflect the intricate ideas behind the ‘Moulin Rouge’.

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