Ultimately, Moulin Rouge! offers a revisionist take on the Romantic artist’s credo. Christian believes that "love will conquer all," a naïve sentiment the film lovingly deconstructs. The Duke is defeated, the show goes on, and Christian and Satine declare their love. But love does not conquer death. Satine dies in Christian’s arms, the green fairy of absinthe (a symbol of creative escape) swirling in the background. Luhrmann’s true genius is to argue that the failure of love to conquer death is what makes it beautiful. The film’s final number, a soaring medley of "Come What May," is heartbreaking precisely because the "what may" includes an ending. The love story is not invalidated by Satine’s death; it is completed by it. The beauty of the Moulin Rouge—its lights, its music, its passion—is magnificent only because the audience knows the dawn will extinguish it.
If you go to Paris, is a night at the Moulin Rouge worth the price tag? Tickets for "Féerie" start around €120 and go up to €500 for VIP packages that include a bottle of champagne. Critics often say the show is "cheesy" or "too touristy." But that misses the point. -Moulin Rouge-
: Beyond its reputation as a den of vice, the Moulin Rouge served as a vital crossroads for social classes, a birthplace of modern dance, and a lasting icon of the "Bohemian" spirit that prioritized truth, beauty, freedom, and love. II. The Birth of the Can-Can and Social Levelling Ultimately, Moulin Rouge