In Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge we are introduced to the character of Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young struggling Bohemian poet, living in 1899 Paris, who defies his father and joins a colourful and diverse art gang, inhabiting the dark, yet fantastical, underworld of the city's now legendary Moulin Rouge. A haven of sex, drugs and newly discovered electricity, it is a seedy and glamorous attraction.

As the story of our innocent progresses, we find him plunged into a passionate, yet ultimately tragic, love affair with Satine (Nicole Kidman), the club's highest paid star. Played out against a backdrop of the infamous club, their romance develops as we meet the high life and the low life, slumming aristocrats and the fashionably rich, mingling with workers, artists, Bohemians, actresses and courtesans.

I am not a fan of musicals. In my eyes, they seldom work and I have always had a problem with the subject matter and how it fits into the genre - The Producers, I think, shows what I am getting at. Singing nuns and musicals about Pearl Harbor are something I would rather ignore, but when something as original as Moulin Rouge comes along, you cannot help but sit back and be blown away.

This is a film which uses a great visual style, accompanied by modern music, played out so powerfully that you get the most intense feelings of emotion. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be shocked and marvel at the way some of the most famous songs of the last 30 years have been put into an entirely new light.

This is a fresh DJ mix of sound and vision from the man who reinvented Romeo And Juliet for the screen and had everyone wondering about competitive dancing in Strictly Ballroom. Moulin Rouge completes what Luhrmann has labeled The Red Curtain Trilogy - films that have taken a rusted formula and reintroduced it in an original light. I have waited years for a musical to have an immediate impact on me and this year two came along at once - Moulin Rouge and Hedwig And The Angry Inch.

This is not just a movie, it is a cinematic experience the likes of which I have never seen before. It is a dizzy attraction, both maddening, beautiful, and heartbreaking all at once. McGregor and Kidman's voices are impressive and compliment each other perfectly. Due to its modern approach, it is a visionary masterpiece that will last the test of time and be watched by generations to come.

The musical reinventions are a true marvel. McGregor's rendition of My Song is extremely powerful, accompanied by a children's choir and an opera singer. Kidman's One Day I'll Fly Away is especially moving. Jim Broadbent, who plays the club owner Harold Zidler, sings a strong version of The Show Must Go On and a hilarious cover of Madonna's Like A Virgin.

The film will confuse some people, I am sure, but Luhrmann is a genius, a true innovator and an inspiration. The visual splendor of the cinematography is every bit as wonderful as the songs. If you want to see a truly post-modernist musical feast, then this is it.