A movie about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1910-'54)? I wondered how it could be done. She lived a most Bohemian life style and even today her name is not exactly a household word. However, maybe it should be. Many consider her the most important 20th-century woman artist of the Americas. She was married to Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, not once, but twice. There was a divorce while he had an affair with Kahlo's sister, but they couldn't stay apart and they remarried after the affair ended. Maybe he was part of Kahlo's problem. Throughout art history, women artists have deferred to brothers, fathers and husbands who were also artists. Lee Krasner, married to Jackson Pollock, is a good example. She was an established artist when they met but painted in a bedroom while he had a nice large studio outside.
Frida Kahlo did not intend to become an artist. She wanted to go to medical school, but a trolley accident when she was in her teens severely affected her life. Her father was a photographer and she spent time with him hand-coloring photographs. Art was something to do as she recuperated from numerous operations. Largely self-taught, Kahlo was brutally honest above all else. She painted her pain. In fact, she painted herself over and over, often in Mexican dress with her notorious unibrow and slight facial hair, often with a monkey peering over her shoulder and her dark hair coiled high on her head, supported by an elongated neck. She did not shy away from the unpleasant. She painted herself having a miscarriage in a New York hospital. She painted some kind of back brace she was forced to wear. She painted the suicide of a well-known journalist as she jumped from a fifth-story window and also as she lay bloodied on the sidewalk below. The painting, by the way, was intended for the journalist's mother!
Not only did Kahlo paint herself in ornate Mexican costumes but also in the severe dress of a man with the remnants of her long hair, which she had just cut, scattered about. It was said that she was bisexual but is notorious for having an affair with Trotsky. Both she and Diego were strong Communists. As with many artists, her paintings are worth more now than before her death. Her work is colorful, strong and above all, bold ‹ terms we often associate with the art of male artists only. No, she did not paint flowers or mothers and children as women artists of her period and beyond did, and were expected to do. She dared to be different. How in the world can a movie depict the life of Frida Kahlo?
"Frida" is a Miramax film directed by Julie Taymor of Broadway's "Lion King" fame. It is a spectacular film, one of the best I've seen for some time, if not ever, but then the subject matter (art) more than appeals to me. Taymor herself is an artist. If you think "The Lion King" was very visual, see what she does with "Frida." Even the trolley accident is visually exciting. We see Frida lying on the ground covered with gold dust given to her by a passenger just before the accident. Kahlo's paintings are brought to life in a very authentic manner.
The film begins near the end of Kahlo's life. She has had a leg amputated and is told by her doctor that she can't leave her bed to go to her own opening. Always determined, she has her bed transported (with her in it) to the show. The scene then shifts to Frida as a schoolgirl, her first meeting with Diego and the accident. Filmed in Mexico City, the film has all the color and excitement of Mexico. Above all, there is a tremendous feeling of authenticity and integrity everywhere; nothing is hidden beneath the rug. Salma Hayek in the leading role not only looks very much like Kahlo, she becomes Kahlo. Hers is an Academy Award-caliber performance. Alfred Molina is excellent as Diego Rivera, giving him an extra touch of humanity. Other roles are well played by Geoffrey Rush, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas and Edward Norton. The story is based on the book by Hayden Herrera.
Frida Kahlo may have walked behind her notorious husband when alive but not anymore. "Frida" is playing at the North Park Theatre on Hertel Avenue in Buffalo.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 3 2002 |