Along with Gauguin, Rodin, Seurat, van Gogh, and several others, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is regarded as a major contributor to the French art movement of the late 19th century, known as post-impressionism. "Moulin Rouge" (1952) is the somewhat romanticized cinematic version of the life of Toulouse-Lautrec. As a biography, the film is "sketchy"; it focuses mostly on the artist late in his life. Though talented as an artist, an accident in his childhood left him with two stunted legs. At maturity, he was 4 1/2 feet tall. The result was a certain amount of social ostracism. Despite being from a family of wealth, he chose a bohemian life as an adult, and he spent much of his time in the seamy areas of Paris, where he would create sketches, drawings, and paintings in the cabarets and brothels.
As Toulouse-Lautrec, Jose Ferrer, together with the film's screenplay, portray a man who was extremely intelligent, lonely, emotionally isolated, and depressed. Much of the film centers on the Moulin Rouge cabaret, where he would make sketches of the patrons and dancers, and drink excessively.
Ferrer gives a highly credible performance. The film has excellent cinematography and production design, and interesting costumes. The overall tone of "Moulin Rouge" is one of sadness and melancholy, in which a talented but lonely artist eschews luxury, to devote his adult life to his passion for art.
