9. Frida, directed by Julie Taymor
A Painter’s Vision Soars in the Illustrious Frida
There are many disparate elements within this film, as there are many aspects to the life of the famous Frida Kahlo: Mexican, woman, survivor, lover, artist, icon. Early on in the biopic, an event of irreversible consequence occurs when the bus Frida (Salma Hayek) is riding on crashes into a tram. She’s left crippled, and it’s in this first period of recuperation, unable to move and imprisoned in plaster, that she begins to paint.
With little distractions, no entertainment and a copious amount of time, her circumstantially enforced practise develops into a real passion for painting. With it comes a deeply individual artistic style. For one, her preference for self-portraits arises. This is from the reality of being alone and immobile in a room, with only drawing materials and a mirror. But more importantly, a pattern emerges, wherein her art is wrenched from the darkness of heartache. This will continue to feed her work until her death.
This turmoil, evocatively reflected in her art, later includes her love affair with Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). Theirs is a romance of magnetism and passion, one that can only be described as a “great love”. They are two people drawn together time and time again in spite of the seemingly irreparable hurt they cause each other.
Her life is, without a doubt extraordinary, and it translates very colourfully here. Taymor artfully achieves this by literally saturating the film with a brightness and vibrancy in direct correspondence to the vibrancy of Kahlo’s life. There is nothing mild or dull about her personality, and more twists and turns in her life than Lombard Street in San Francisco. In a metaphorical replica of Kahlo’s art, the brilliant colour palette is tempered with scenes of grey, to lace together touches of surrealism with reality.
Salma Hayek is a firecracker as Frida. She’s feisty, passionate and able to stand tall amongst the men, although not literally – she is tiny! Hayek was nominated for an Oscar, while the film itself won Best Original Score and Makeup. It’s not easy to embody a woman who represents so many different things to so many different people. Unlike most ‘icons’, Kahlo is iconic within an array of spheres, whether to feminists, artists, political activists, nationalists or even fashionistas.
This biopic is one example of how separate art forms can combine to more fully enrich one another. After seeing this film, Kahlo’s paintings take on an even greater poignancy. We’ve gained real insight into the (often terrible) experiences that inspired her art, and thus have a deeper understanding of the art itself. Experiencing the miscarriage of her child on film before once again seeing her paintings like The Two Fridas and Henry Ford Hospital elevates their visceral force. Our respect too for the woman intensifies as we gain true insight into an icon. Indeed, if any person is worthy of being appreciated on film, it is Frida.