A Moral Christian Movie Called "The Moulin Rouge"

I've had friends who say, "You can't see that movie because it does not support or promote good, Christian values and is therefore immoral to view." Technically they didn't say it that analytically, but the message was received just the same.

I would argue that even if a movie was at its core "immoral" and promoted "immorality" is could still be deemed a good, Christian movie.

As a Christian -a follower or believer in Christ and God- I try to see through eyes of compassion and truth. Like a dog in search of a source to a scent followed on an invisible trail I seek to find God in all things. The problem is some people believe God's truth can only be found in what they deem to be morally "good". I would argue that God could just as easily be found in what is morally "bad". Or rather the lack of God in a given situation to be "bad".

I therefore feel like illustrating this point by assessing the popular 2001 movie The Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. This romantic comedy/musical was so popular in fact that it was nominated for 8 Oscars.

The film takes place in Paris at the turn of the 20th century (the 1900s). It begins with Ewan McGregor typing at his writer a story he deems from the beginning to be a tragedy. Disheveled and broken he starts by explaining how it was he first came to Paris.

His tale begins with his first stroll down the streets of Paris. He had been warned not to go there by his father who was what I would call a "severely religious" man lacking compassion, patience, grace, and spirituality. A dangerous combination. Men with authority, power, and knowledge often find themselves unfortunate dictators and rulers over the lives of others when they lack compassion. 

Because his son was more spiritual, the two severed and completely disagreed with regard to their philosophies on life. The father argued that everything was a sin. The son argued that love, beauty, and harmony were what made life worth living -obviously a Libra.

The father told his son if he went to Paris he would end up falling in love with a can-can dancer and ruining his life forever. But his young, bright-eyed son, consequently named Christian, was driven to Paris out of a sense of longing for the values he so affectionately sought after but could not find at home. You can therefore argue it was a man of fierce, religious sternness with eyes of deep scrutiny and judgement that drove a young man away from God and towards a path of his own.

Having reached Paris the first person Christian runs into is Toulouse-Lautrec. Toulouse was a famous painter around that era who often depicted the nightlife of Paris around dance halls like the Moulin Rouge. The paintings he often depicted were sometimes lively and full of frivolity and other times were more bleak and slightly disturbing. Faces illuminated with dark lights and strange hues of colors like green and blue -alien and distorted.

It is ironic that the movie chose that character for Christian to run into.The life of Toulouse mirrored one of the points the movie depicted -that like a circus. Those who came to the Moulin Rouge once for a momentary chance to enjoy the extravaganza were greatly entertained and amused; but those who came to know those places regularly and saw the lives of the "entertainers" behind the curtains and knew of the deeper misfortunes surrounding their lives.

When Christian runs into Toulouse he joins his marry band of fellow Bohemians and they decide to start a play together based on their unyielding values of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love.

From there Christian is given absinthe and taken to the Moulin Rouge where he first lays eyes on the second main character "Satine" played by Nicole Kidman. After her performance/fainting spell it is made clear the Satine suffers from tuberculosis and it is assumed from then on she will probably end up dying soon.

Due to a "mix-up" Christian then finds himself mistaken for a duke Satine is supposed to be "entertaining" in her private room. Satine proceeds to seduce and "satisfy" the needs of Christian, who she assumes to be her client the duke. Christian on the other hand just wants to ask her to star in his play and resists her advances by breaking into a song. Satine then falls in love with him. The  real duke then interrupts. To distract the duke so Christian can escape unnoticed, Satine sings then sings the same song to the duke -and he falls in love with her. 

The duke himself was a man of great means -wealthy and socially naive in some ways. He expected to get his moneys worth that night by paying for the star performer and most sought after prostitute in the Moulin Rouge to sleep with him. Not exactly a man of great moral standing.

From there Christian convinces Satine to stay romantically involved with him. She at first declines by saying that she has a job as a prostitute to sleep with men form money and therefore cannot allow herself to fall in love with anyone. Christian then argues that without Love, life itself is not worth living. Triumphed by his words and her Love for him, Satine then begins her long-standing relationship with Christian -which she keeps secret from the duke and her boss.

I'd say that is the key mistake made that ultimately leads to the tragedy that befalls the couple. A Lie made by Satine allowing the duke to continue believing she loved him when in fact she had no interest in him. The duke himself, concerned only for his own contentment, is then frustrated by his own dissatisfaction at a lie left unfulfilled. 

You can argue this movie is immoral because of the immoral actions that occur, but at some point you have to ask yourself: Why did their lives become corrupted? Satine was a prostitute from the beginning. Sought for her beauty from a young age, she no doubt was led to that life by others and knew of no other path. As she states in the movie, the only time she ever felt she was worth anything to anyone was when men would pay her to have sex with them because they thought she was beautiful. But when she met Christian she learned that she could in fact be loved for more than just her body -a truth God would want all men and women to know.

You can then argue that unconditional love was something she was led to experience and to have that kind of love she had to set aside money, her desire for fame, the people she had come to know, and the life she had been living for so many years. Unconditional love was the only thing that made her question the legitimacy of the life style she had been living. Monogamy and Love -very Christian values- were the only things that ever made her feel like she needed to leave her old life behind for a better one.

The movie ends with the duke leaving dissatisfied and Satine dying in the arms of Christian after she finally succumbs to her disease. The movie is left on a sour note -with no one left satisfied. Where does Satine go when she dies? Having never mentioned or cared much for God it's hard to say she would end up in Heaven. Limbo or Purgatory are a better guess. And Christian is left alone with his typewriter telling the tale, looking for some sense of peace, but only finding himself clinging to the memories of when he was happy.

Here another moral lesson is taught. Human lives are messy and temporary. If you hinge the whole of your happiness and peace on the life of another person you will likely end up disappointed. People change, they fray, and their bodies give way. If you want consistent peace that doesn't end you have to found it in a source that does not end. An Eternal Source. God is Eternal. God gives grace, love, and acceptance. The very things Christian sought out on his journey to begin with. He was looking for a place where he "belonged". A place where he felt loved, understood, and accepted. He could have found that place within himself and within God. Instead he sought it from the people around him and the circumstances he found himself in.

God in the end is a much safer bet.

And with that I conclude that a movie that was intended to get some laughs and some tears while updating a vast array of music from the 70s and 80s can be seen as fulfilling Christian values and illustrating lessons God has taught man throughout the centuries and continues to teach. It is also a testament to Devoted Romantic Love as well as a warning to Lies and Deception.