It has been said that there are few differences between theater and film. The most prevalent discrepancy distinction is that theater inspires the imagination, while film presents accumulations of the imaginations of the artists who present it.

So then what of “Moulin Rouge,” a film in the form of a theatric musical – can this one work transcend the best of both worlds?

“Moulin Rouge” on its base level is a simple love story. What complicates it – as if love isn’t hard enough- is that right from the beginning the audience learns that the heroine Satine dies at the end.

The story starts with the arrival of Christian (Ewan McGregor). After a quick mishap, Christian finds himself the leading playwright for a quirky company of actors. The actors scheme a plot to deceive the beautiful Satine (Nicole Kidman) into believing Christian is the Duke of Worcester, a very rich and powerful man. Satine and Christian fall in love, but when the real Duke of Worcester (Richard Roxburgh) appears, Satine is forced to seduce him instead. The Duke promises to fund Christian’s play if Satine sleeps with him on opening night.

During the remainder of the movie we are shown the differences between reality and fairy tales. Christian bases his play on the true-life love story that he and Satine must hide from the Duke. While Christian’s true life story takes place in a glorified brothel and turn-of-the-century nightclub The Moulin Rouge, his fairy tale story takes place in a mystical kingdom.

While Christian sees only his fairy tale, we see the reality of his morbid situation. Maybe Cervantes was right when he said, “Perhaps the only true madness is to see life as it is, and not how it should be.”

The true beauty of “Moulin Rouge” isn’t in its story; it is in the way the story is told. The way the scenery appears to be a grand stage that is miles long is eye candy, which alone is worth seeing.

With the help of “Lady Marmalade,” the lead song to come out of the film’s soundtrack, MTV-generation teens will flock to this movie in herds.

The theatrical musical film genre isn’t anything new, but the music video and modern musical influences are. With a love of musicals, I commend this wonderful fusion of two great mediums.

If we are lucky, “Moulin Rouge” won’t be one of a kind, but the prototype of a genre to come.