Oh la la. Are you sorry now Tom?

Amazing, marvellous, visually stunning, unbeatable.

The movie of the year has arrived.

Nigel Bell

Who would have thought the man who drove us all mad with that number one single about the benefits of wearing sunscreen could produce such a gem.

Mind you, Baz Luhrmann has quite a track record. Strictly Ballroom and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet showed the Aussie had an eye for outstanding set pieces.

Moulin Rouge is a veritable roller coaster of a visual ride. Your eyes are in for a treat and you'll be hard pressed to tear them from the screen, even for a film that's more than two hours in length.

Dear Tom, you don't know what you're missing

The storyline is simple enough. Moulin Rouge is a love story, a love doomed to end in tragedy.

Young writer Christian (McGregor) arrives in Paris and is soon adopted by a group of Bohemian actors.

This leads to a meeting with Satine (Kidman), a courtesan based at the Moulin Rouge but desperate to become a serious actress.

Despite their mutual love, Satine is under pressure to enter into a relationship with the Duke of Worcester (Roxburgh). In return, the duke will finance the conversion of the Moulin Rouge into a theatre.

It's Kylie - very 1900

The story is played out in a mix of farce and tension but it all takes second stage to the visuals and music.

The film is being hailed as a return to greatness for the musical. That's probably taking things too far but the songs are sensational.

Like A Knight's Tale, Moulin Rouge puts modern tunes into a past setting. But unlike the former, Luhrmann gets his actors to put a new twist on classics like Elton John's Your Song, Roxanne by the Police and Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Move over Madonna, Nicole's in town

Right from the start you're jolted into this new take on the musical when McGregor suddenly starts belting out The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music some 40 odd years before Rogers and Hammerstein actually wrote the song.

It works a treat, helped greatly by the fact that Kidman and co have decent voices. The soundtrack is a winner but criminally omits an OTT interpretation of Madonna's Like A Virgin by the marvellous Jim Broadbent.

In many ways Moulin Rouge reminds me of how Absolute Beginners might have looked given a decent budget. It's shot in an exotic pop video style with rapid editing which makes you dizzy. This is Dennis Potter meets Bollywood. There's even an appearance by Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy.

Make no mistake, Moulin Rouge will divide film fans. It's a movie you'll either love or hate. If you don't catch the vibe after the first ten minutes you might as well go home, if you do, then you'll be richly rewarded.