Lincoln Land’s campus is typically quiet at 6 p.m. A few students head to night classes and custodians clean. However, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, a movie about “freedom, truth, and above all else, love” would break some of that routine. 

It was Lit Week at Lincoln Land Community College, which means that Loggers got to express their excitement about literature by getting “All Lit Up” from Sept 23 to 27. 

The second day of this week included a special showing of the movie musical “Moulin Rouge” with a discussion led by Gillian Bauer, a professor of English. 

“‘Moulin Rouge’ is a story that is based on other stories that we already know” Bauer points out.

She starts the night off by giving the viewers some context before she starts the movie, “Eurydice and Orpheus and Romeo and Juliet are just two tragic love stories that have influenced this one” 

Bauer said famous movie critic Roger Ebert said this movie feels like being trapped in an elevator with a circus. Bauer insists he meant that in a good way. 

“If you can get past the first 15 minutes, then you’re in store for a great movie” Bauer argued.

Baz Luhrmann, the director of this film, is known for fast-paced sequences where a lot is happening at one time. Bauer referred to the first 15 minutes of “Moulin Rouge” being filmed in this manner. 

The film is a love story between a penniless writer who flees to Paris and Satine, a star performer at the Moulin Rouge. The lovers must hide their true feelings from an evil duke who is threatening to close the Moulin Rouge, a staple of the 19th-century French bohemian movement. 

Following the film, Bauer discussed with students their thoughts on the movie.

“One of the general criticisms of this film when it first came out is that it is grand in nature yet at the end feels empty,” Bauer said.  

“The two main characters fell in love too quickly,” Kenny Bixler said. “Their love seems too artificial for me to believe”  

The film, which includes popular songs from Queen, Madonna and Nirvana, brought mixed feelings.

“One of the things that surprised me about this film were the song choices,” Bixler said

Bauer said the song choices, while they might be odd, still worked within the context of the film. 

“Maybe one of the reasons the film only uses music that we already know is to show how artificial love can be,” added Christopher Casper, another student. 

There was a general cloud of mixed emotions about the film, but Bauer loves this film. She said she could not wait to watch it with other people.

“I loved watching [some of] you sing along,” she said to the people who were there. “This is truly a really good film.”