The story is about truth, beauty, freedom, and above all, love.

Paris 1900. Christian, a young British poet is engrossed in a wonderful memory of the unforgettable love in his life one year before. He decides to put this lovestory down on the paper with his typewriter. His mind flies back to Moulin Rouge.

Paris 1899. Montmartre（注2） is the section of Paris that gathers bohemian（注3） artists from all over the world. Among them is the new arrival Christian from London. He has come here to seek for inspiration for his literary creation in spite of his father's warning him against choosing such a place of filth and sin. One day he meets a group of artists working for Moulin Rouge, the most popular venue where the rich enjoy the entertaining cancan（注4） show. Christian's talent for poetry surprises the group headed by Toulouse-Lautrec, and he invites Christian to help them with a musical play called "Spectacular, Spectacular" to impress their boss Harold Zidler.

Upon his first night at Moulin Rouge, Christian is instantly stunned by the beauty of Satine, the sparkling diamond among all the courtesans（注5） and cancan dancers. However, he is not the only one drawn to her. The Duke also wants to get Satine more than anyone else does. And he has the power, wealth and money which zidler needs badly to innovate his business. While Zidler tries to make an arrange
ment for Satine to meet the Duke, Toulouse succeeds in persuading her to see Christian after the show.

Just as the show reaches its climax, Satine blacks out（注6）on stage while singing the last song. She is carried to the backstage and rests in her dressing room（注7）. When Christian enters the room to meet her, Satine is impressed by his handsome appearance and extraordinary talent. Taking him as the Duke, Satine begins to kiss him and want to make love to him. But she is disappointed after learning that he is a writer just like Toulouse. She needs money to pay her rent, and the right connection（注8）to realize her dream of becoming a top actress.

At this moment, the Duke knocks on the door. Satine has to distract the Duke's attention by flirting（注9） with him so that Christian is able to find a place to hide in the room. When the Duke finally leaves the room, Christian comes out of the closet. Unfortunately, the Duke breaks in again and is shocked to see them together. Satine tells the Duke that they're rehearsing（注10） the new play "Spectacular, Spectacular". While the Duke is still suspicious, Toulouse and Zidler enter the room to their rescue. Under such circumstances, Christian has to make up（注11） a story to convince the Duke who finally decides to invest in Moulin Rouge, to Zidler's relief.

But at what a cost! The Duke does promise an investment to transform Moulin Rouge into a modern theatre where all the singing and dancing plays can be put on. But he also presses Zidler to sign a deed（注12） that guarantees his sole right to Satine as security（注13） for his investment. That night both Satine and Christian cannot sleep. Christian climbs into Satine's room to convince her that love is above all the most important thing in life. But Satine is torn between the tough choices. She longs for love from Christian, but she also needs money to ensure a good life and successful career.

The rehearsal is going on, and the Duke comes to the theatre almost every day pressing Satine to move into his place. Satine tries every means to delay the date while desperately spending every spare minute with Christian. When the Duke feels what is going on between the two, he tells Zidler that Satine must have dinner with him at 8:00 that evening, the same time that Satine has a rendezvous（注14）with Christian.

Just before the dinnertime, Satine again blacks out. After an examination, the doctor tells the Zidlers that Satine is seriously ill and cannot live long. Failing to meet Satine, the angry Duke sends for Zidler and makes him promise that Satine has to sleep with him after the opening night show. Knowing the situation, the desperate couple can do nothing but outlet their anger and express their love for each other in the new play in which a beautiful Hindu（注15） courtesan who falls in love with a poor sitar（注16） player is tempted by the power and wealth of a maharajah（注17）. At the end of the play, the girl chooses the sitar player.

However, the Duke does not like the ending and orders it to be rewritten. He also threatens to withdraw his financial support if the play is not revised according to his will.

Upon the critical moment, Satine volunteers to have dinner with the Duke and discuss with him the ending of the play. The Duke is satisfied with the offer. But for Christian, it's a torture. That night Satine goes to the Duke and dines with him while Christian is anxiously walking to and fro in front of the Duke's house. The change of attitude in Satine almost makes the Duke believe that she is in love with him. He says that the play can be shown unchanged. He also promises to lift Satine from a cancan dancer to a real star. However, at the last moment, Satine cannot help thinking of Christian for his passion and love. She refuses to sleep with the Duke and escapes from his house.

The furious Duke vows to get Satine after the opening night show no matter what happens, or he will have Christian killed. When Zidler tells Satine the terrible news, she is not afraid at all. She believes that love will overcome all obstacles. But when Zidler has to reveal the secret that she is dying, Satine is dumbfounded and begins to hesitate. In the interest of Moulin Rouge and for the sake of Christian's future, the show must go on and Satine has to go to the Duke after the show. To save Christian, she has to hurt him by telling him that she does not love him any more.

Heart broken, Christian goes to Toulouse to bid him farewell. But Toulouse, from his own experience and observation, firmly tells Christian that Satine does love him. On the night of the opening show, the theatre is full of audience waiting for the new play. The performance proceeds as planned and proves a great succes
s. In the middle of the show, Christian sneaks into the theatre to find out if Satine really loves him. The killer the Duke hires spots on Christian when Satinecomes to the backstage to change. In order to make Christian leave, Satine has to say that she does not love him. The two argue fiercely behind the curtain. When the killer is about to pull the trigger of his gun, one of the actors kicks off the gun. At this moment, the limelight is on. Christian and Satine are in the spotlight. Pretending to be the sitar player who has just shaved his beard, Christian condemns Satine for her betraying him to marry the maharajah.

Disillusioned Christian decides to leave Paris forever. He begins to walk towards the door when Toulouse suddenly sings out Christian's poem "the greatest thing you've ever learned in life is to love and to be loved in return". Looking back at the stage, Christian sees a pale and fragile Satine with tears in her eyes. He runs onto the stage and holds Satine tightly in his arms. In loud applause, the curtain falls and the Duke escapes from the theatre in disgrace. However, Satine never stands up again. Before she dies, Satine asks Christian to put down their love story on the paper so that she will always be with him.

Typing the final two words "the end", Christian is now able to rest for a while.But his mind is still in Moulin Rouge.

1. Moulin Rouge: 红磨坊, 巴黎蒙马特区的一个歌舞厅，19世纪以其康康舞表演闻名于世，现在则以艳舞表演为主。

2. Montmartre: 蒙马特区，位于巴黎北部的一个高地上，以高耸的白色圣心教堂、酒吧、餐馆、以及夜总会著
称于世，其中最著名的为红磨坊。19世纪这里曾聚集了一大批艺术家，包括专门画歌舞演员的图鲁斯-劳特莱
克。

3. bohemian: 生活放荡不羁的。

4. cancan: 康康舞，流行于19世纪的法国，节奏很快。舞蹈者的主要动作是抖动长裙和踢高大腿。

5. courtesan: 高等妓女，名妓。

6. black out: 晕倒。

7. dressing room:（剧院的）化妆室。

8. connection: 社会关系（网）。

9. flirt: 调情，卖俏。

10. rehearse: 彩排，排练。

11. make up: 杜撰，编造。

12. deed: 契约。

13. security: 抵押（物）。

14. rendezvous: <法>约会，幽会。

15. Hindu: 印度人（的）。

16. sitar: 印度的一种拨弦乐器。

17. maharajah: （印度）土邦主。

Satine Argues with Christian about Money and Love

Christian: (Climbing up Satine's dressing room) Sorry!
　　(Satine gasps) I didn't mean to...I saw your light on, and...I climbed up the...

Satine: What!

Christian: I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to thank you for helping me get thejob.

Satine: Oh. Of course. Yes, Toulouse... Toulouse was right. You're...You're very talented.

Christian: Oh.

Satine: It's going to be a wonderful show. Anyway, I... I'd better go because we, uh...we both have a big tomorrow.

Christian: Wait. No, please, wait. Before, when we were...when we were...when you thought I was the Duke, you said that you loved me, a- and I wondered if...

Satine: If it was just an act（注1）?

Christian: Yes.

Satine: Of course.

Christian: Oh. It just felt real.

Satine: Christian, I'm a courtesan. I'm paid to make men believe what they want to believe.

Christian: Yes. Silly of me, to think y-you could fall in love with someone like me.

Satine: I can't fall in love with anyone.

Christian: Can't fall in love? But a life without love, that's terrible.

Satine: No, being on the street, that's terrible.

Christian: No, love is like oxygen.

Satine: What?

Christian: Love is a many-splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. Allyou need is love.

Satine: Please, don't start that again.

Christian: (begins to sing) All you need is love.

Satine: A girl has got to eat.

Christian: All you need is love.

Satine: She'll end up on the street.

Christian: All you need is love.

Satine: Love is just a game.

Christian: I was made for loving you, baby. You were made for loving me.

Satine: The only way of loving me, baby, is to pay a lovely fee.

Christian: Just one night. Give me just one night.

Satine: There's no way 'cause you can't pay.

Christian: In the name of love. One night in the name of love.

Satine: You crazy fool. I won't give in to you.

Christian: Don't...leave me this way. I can't survive without your sweet love. Oh, baby. Don't leave me this way.

Satine: You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs.

Christian: I look around me and I see that it isn't so. Oh, no.

Satine: Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs.

Christian: Well, what's wrong with that? I'd like to know. 'Cause here I go again. (jumps onto the roof)

Satine: Oh, no!

Christian: Love lifts us up where we belong.

Satine: Get down! Get down!

Christian: Where eagles fly on a mountain high.

Satine: Love makes us act like we are fools. Throw our lives away for one happy day.

Christian: We could be heroes just for one day.

Satine: You... you will be mean（注2）.

Christian: No, I won't.

Satine: And I...I'll drink all the time.

Christian: We should be lovers.

Satine: We can't do that.

Christian: We should be lovers. And that's a fact.

Satine: Though nothing will keep us together.

Christian & Satine: We could steal time just for one day. We could be heroes forever and ever. We could be heroes forever and ever. We can be heroes just because I will always love you. I can't help loving you. How wonderful life is now you're in the world.

Satine: You're gonna be bad for business. I can tell. (Kiss each other)

1. act: 演戏，表演。
2. mean: 麻烦的，讨厌的。