Why I love every movie Baz Luhrmann has ever made (except for ‘Moulin Rouge!’)
My love story with his filmography
Everybody is familiar with Baz Lurhamann’s work even if they are not aware of that. This Australian director is best known for movies like ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013), ‘Moulin Rouge!’ (2001), and recently for the very talked about but not actually loved ‘Elvis’ (2022). His so-over-the-top tacky style may be too much for some, but it is precisely what I love the most about his work.
Here’s how I fell in love with his movies.
The first Baz Lurhmann movie I’ve seen was ‘Romeo + Juliet’ (1996). A strong start. I was in middle school, fifteen years old, and what more needs to be said — I had the biggest crush on Leonardo Di Caprio. Who’s to blame, that’s how it works if you’re an average straight teenage girl in the 2010s. So I fell in love with the movie instantly even though we watched it in school and I did quite not understand why this adaptation of Shakespeare was so strange. I later watched it again with my friends giggling at the scene when young Leo falls into the swimming pool. But after the third watch, I was able to grasp why this movie is so special (and why I watched it so many times).
It is such a grotesque adaptation that goes bigger than it needs to and takes an…
