The movie is not exactly about the Moulin Rouge but about the last years of life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the heir of an aristocratic family who was born with genetic defects and turned to painting while recovering from a bad accident.
I was afraid there would be lots of song and dance scenes, but mercifully they do away with it in the first half hour with an overdose of can can and Zsa Zsa Gabor singing and from then on it's smooth sailing into the melancholic life of Toulouse-Lautrec.
Henri's parents were first cousins and there had been several serious health issues with children born in their families. Henri had the misfortune of carrying the genetic curse to the extreme, fracturing both legs as a teenager and never growing up taller than 1,52m (4.99").
Not being able to hunt and to be an outdoor man like his father, whom he despised anyway, Henri lived the dissolute life in Paris, spending his evenings in the most famous cabarets of the time, like the Moulin Rouge and the Moulin de la Galette. Contrary to what shown in the movie, Henri was not celibate and he spent long hours in the "maison close", being a friend and lover of prostitutes. He was a most dispassionate witness of the low life and was never judgemental. At most, he found their customers hypocrites.
In the movie we get a decent appraisal of his cynicism, wit and loneliness and his descent into alcoholism. Despite having escaped from the idle life of his parents, Henri did not find happiness in Paris but only temporary relief from his demons. He died probably of alcoholism and VD at only 36 years of age.
I was afraid there would be lots of song and dance scenes, but mercifully they do away with it in the first half hour with an overdose of can can and Zsa Zsa Gabor singing and from then on it's smooth sailing into the melancholic life of Toulouse-Lautrec.
Henri's parents were first cousins and there had been several serious health issues with children born in their families. Henri had the misfortune of carrying the genetic curse to the extreme, fracturing both legs as a teenager and never growing up taller than 1,52m (4.99").
Not being able to hunt and to be an outdoor man like his father, whom he despised anyway, Henri lived the dissolute life in Paris, spending his evenings in the most famous cabarets of the time, like the Moulin Rouge and the Moulin de la Galette. Contrary to what shown in the movie, Henri was not celibate and he spent long hours in the "maison close", being a friend and lover of prostitutes. He was a most dispassionate witness of the low life and was never judgemental. At most, he found their customers hypocrites.
In the movie we get a decent appraisal of his cynicism, wit and loneliness and his descent into alcoholism. Despite having escaped from the idle life of his parents, Henri did not find happiness in Paris but only temporary relief from his demons. He died probably of alcoholism and VD at only 36 years of age.