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.
The original Moulin Rouge featured extravagant decor that defied the conventions of the era: -Moulin Rouge-
: The Moulin Rouge was founded by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler during the Belle Époque Ultimately, Moulin Rouge