Allegory in Moulin Rouge

Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge is a retelling of the classic Orpheus myth. In the myth, Orpheus enchants everyone around him with his haunting music. In the film, Christian, played by Ewan McGregor, is a bumbling fool not making much sense until he sings. When he sings his modern poetry enchants everyone around him. Orpheus was the greatest poet in the world and could charm anyone with his music. Christian reveals his talent for poetry through popular songs. His adaptation of modern poetry reveals his talent and allows those around him to fall in love with his musical abilities. Orpheus travels to the underworld to save his true love, Eurydice, from an untimely death. Christian travels from an upper class environment in London to the slums of Paris where he will encounter and attempt to save his love Satine, played by Nicole Kidman. Although Luhrmann's musical is not an exact replication, it acts as an allegory for Orpheus' myth bringing the classic tale to life again through modern popular songs.

In the myth Orpheus is a talented musician who enchants everyone around him with the music he plays on his lyre. Through song Orpheus can get his way or avert danger, as when he plays his lyre and defeats the Sirens. On the day of his wedding to the beautiful Eurydice, she is bitten by a poisonous snake and dies. He is deeply saddened and plays his lyre for Hades and Persephone, rulers of the Underworld. His mournful music affects them and they let him pass the river Styx and search for his new bride. He is allowed to bring her back with him as long as he does not look at her, one look and she stays in the underworld forever. He finds her and leads her out but once he is free from the underworld he forgets his only condition and he turns to look at Eurydice. His look immediately kills her and he returns to the surface alone. Orpheus loses his true love but continues to tell his story through music.

Moulin Rouge is based on the operetta "Orpheus in the Underworld." The film starts with the image of a curtained stage. The stage opens and the film is shown behind the curtain. By beginning the film in such a manner it reminds the viewer that they are watching a story, it is make believe. Christian is a mid to upper class gentleman from London who travels to the lower class slums of Paris to partake in the Moulin Rouge. The Children of the Revolution serve as the gatekeepers, allowing Christian entry into the underworld. The Moulin Rouge, in itself, acts as the underworld with Harold Zigler, the pimp of the prostitutes, the leader of it all and therefore Hades. Christian descends into the underworld before he has ever laid eyes on Satine. Zidler refers to the people in Moulin Rouge as the "underworld showfolk" revealing the connection between the underworld of Moulin Rouge to the underworld of the Orpheus myth. The connection is also made clear when Zidler states "we are creatures of the underworld, we don't deserve to love." Christian reenacts the Orpheus myth by going from a higher class to the slums of Paris where he will attempt to free his true love.

Satine, like Eurydice, is known for her beauty. She is captivated by Christian's poetry and they are happy in love while in the Moulin Rouge. After she becomes deathly ill with consumption she has essentially been told to remain where she is. Eurydice, in the Orpheus myth, is not given a choice of her fate. The snake bites her and she dies and is stuck in the underworld until Orpheus comes for her. At Orpheus' mistake she is sentenced to hell once more. Satine, it seems, is given a choice. She decides she will leave with Christian and when confronted with the news of her death, and the information that Christian will be killed if she leaves with him, she chooses to stay in the underworld. When Christian comes back for her and convinces her of his love she lets him lead her out of the theatre. Although neither one of them is safely outside the Moulin Rouge nor the slums of Paris, Christian turns to look at Satine and the consumption immediately overtakes her. Her death, like Eurydice's, occurs when the Orpheus man looks at her.

Christian, like Orpheus, relates to other people through music. He is seen as the magical and creative savior of the scene. When the narcoleptic Argentinean, a member of the Children of the Revolution, falls through Christian's roof, he becomes the stand in and when everyone is speaking at once about the musical progression of the scene they are working on, it is Christian's spontaneous song that gives them hope. Although Christian seems more to be the "right place at the right time" hero, his music inspires others and enchants those around him. This moment is similar to Orpheus playing his lyre for the gatekeeper to the underworld. The Children of the Revolution are enchanted by Christian and allow him access to the Moulin Rouge, to the underworld. The theme of enchantment is prevalent throughout Moulin Rouge. The opening describes Christian as an "enchanted boy" and discusses the "magic day" he came into the speaker's life. Orpheus was known as the greatest poet of the world. In order for Christian to be portrayed as the greatest poet of the world, new great poetry would have had to be written. Instead, Luhrmann borrowed lines from popular music to represent Christian's use of modern poetry. By meshing great poetry out of popular songs, Christian is portrayed as a great poet and subsequently the savior of all. Just as Orpheus is seen as a magical enchanter, Christian captivates those around him with his voice and use of modern poetry.

Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge retells the Orpheus myth in a modern way. Through piecing together popular songs, Christian reveals his musical talent and enchants those around him, much like Orpheus. With the Moulin Rouge acting as the underworld the setting becomes more accessible and easier to understand to the audience. A story of a man traveling through hell for his new bride may be hard to accept but a man falling in love with a prostitute only to have her die of consumption is something modern and identifiable. Moulin Rouge subtly forces the Orpheus myth on an audience through its use of accessible storytelling and modern music.

Works Cited
Moulin Rouge. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perfs. Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman. Bazmark Films, 2001.