Moulin Rouge

1. Moulin Rouge-
Opening Scene
By Natasha Christensen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wei3ydjvGe0
Moulin Rouge- 2001
Ewan McGregor
Nicole Kidman

2. Mise En Scene
 At 1:14- there are many elements
that come together in this scene to
create the mise en scene.
 You can clearly see that there are 3
or 4 bottles of beer
 The typewriter shows the time period
that the musical is set in, which is the
early 1900’s and the cobweb on it
suggests that it may be old and
hasn’t been used in a while.

3. Camera Angles
 From the beginning until 1:11, the
whole scene is filmed in one shot
from a crane (even though it looks
animated) and ends up zooming to
a close up of the actor’s face.
 There are a lot of close ups of the
actor in this scene
 At 1:15- A camera is set up from the
ceiling and films downwards onto
the room where the actor is
standing in the corner.

4. Lighting
 At 1:10- Expressive and low key lighting is
used to light up half of the actor’s face to
create a more powerful effect and to
almost suggest that the character might
have a dark side that he’s trying to hide.
 At 1:23- Expressive lighting is used again,
however the lighting includes a ‘blue filter’
which makes half the actor’s face blue to
create a melancholic and depressing
mood as blue is often associated with
sadness.

5. Sound
 Throughout the whole scene, there is
a song called Nature Boy by Eden
Ahbez playing, which is a depressing
song that ties well together with the
whole story and the sadness of the
character.
 The sound of the typewriter can also
be heard over the music at 1:31 to
create a sense of realism and
authenticity.
 Non-diegetic music- melancholic
and depressing

6. Performance and
Movement
 In this movie Ewan McGregor plays the character
of a poor English poet who is trying to write a
story/poem in the middle of Paris.
 The audience first sees the actor sitting on the floor
with his knees up to his chest and covering his
face with his arms. This body language clearly
indicates that the character is quite upset.
 The fact that the actor is crying, further convinces
the audience that the character is depressed.