You can hate it. Or you can love it. But you just can’t ignore it. Much about Baz Luhrmann’s movie is like an oft-quoted cliche. The story’s been told a million times. But it’s still so much more.

Moulin Rouge is not simply the tale of a penniless poet who falls in love with a courtesan. It’s a feast for the senses — with a total disregard for history (pop songs and 19th century Paris co-exist), magnificent music (everything from Madonna to Elton John), brilliant colours and dizzying camera work.

There isn’t much to the story. Idealistic country-bumpkin writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) wants to write about the one true emotion he has never experienced — love. Satine (Nicole Kidman) is a courtesan who’s the “sparkling diamond” of Moulin Rouge. She mistakenly assumes Christian to be the Duke of Worcester (played by Richard Roxburgh) and falls in love with him. She realises her mistake soon, but by then she has already been promised to the Duke in return for sponsoring Moulin Rouge’s show written by Christian, ‘Spectacular Spectacular’.

One would be hard pressed to pinpoint one particular moment that makes this movie so compelling. Nicole Kidman is stunning as the consumptive courtesan who is in equal parts ethereally beautiful and embarrassingly trampy. In the mix of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, Material World and Chhamma chhamma, where Christian gets his first glimpse of her, it’s impossible to look away from the screen.

The music is every pop music lover’s dream. There is Zidler’s hilarious rendition of Madonna’s Like a Virgin, sung to entice the Duke with talks of how he makes Satine feel “like a virgin”. And an overpowering, dramatic and nearly unrecognisable Roxanne in a new dance-floor-tango-meets-techno-beats avatar.

The mushy banter between Satine, who tries so hard to be cynical, and Christian, completely smitten, is sung through songs like I Was Made For Loving You Baby, Heroes and I Will Always Love You.

The coolest thing about this movie? It does not take itself too seriously.