Film Review: "Frida"

Frida (2002)

Cast: Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Antonio Banderas, Valeria Golino,    Diego Luna, Mía Maestro, Edward Norton

Director: Julie Taymor

Plot: The film portrays the life of Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter who lived a bold and uncompromising life as a political, artistic, and sexual revolutionary. The movie starts with some details of Frida Kahlo's (Salma Hayek) upbringing in Mexico City, and her nurturing relationship with her traditional mother (Patricia Reyes Spindola) and philosophical father (Roger Rees). Once, when being a child, the heroine gets badly damaged in a city bus accident, which nearly ends her life, and, as a result, she is impaled by a metal pole. But in her bed-ridden state, the young artist produces dozens of works; when she recovers, she presents them to the legendary Mexican artist Rivera (Alfred Molina), the man she has already been in love with and who takes her under his patronage. They become lovers inevitably, for Rivera is a well-known lady-killer, and later get married. But their relations are quite prickly, as two creative personalities seldom get on with each other.They quarrel, get divorced even after an argument, and then re-marry again; Diego goes on paying court to other women, including Frida’s sister Christina, while Kahlo suffers from her, in many ways, despairing love, what finds the reflection in her works, full of some magnetic life-asserting power. And the end of hers is the most becoming: the woman dies as an admired and acknowledged painter, and her dear husband gives her the last honours.

Review:

Long in gestation and attached to a number of actors, directors, and producers, the Frida Kahlo biopic, produced by and starring Salma Hayek, finally reached the screen in 2002. Actually, the film presents itself a mixture of drama and biographical film, or biopic, and so is drawn from real life. It touches upon the themes of human relations, love and self-sacrifice, art and its role in a person’s life, as well as the ever-regarded theme of people’s search for sense in life.

Frankly speaking, I’ve heard about Frida Kahlo before when read some story describing her biography. But now, having watched the film, I can say I’m really impressed, by Frida herself in the first place. What a strong-willed and self-possessed woman she must have been to suffer from a serious trauma for whole her life, behaving as if she was a queen at the same time! She brassed ring, loved and painted, dressed up every time she appeared in public… and before her husband, of course. Frida was really a fantastic woman, and I really admire her.  Thanks to Salma Hayek for so vividly and realistically portrayed image of the talented painter – I must admit, she is a good actress. Alfred Molina was also very convincing as Diego; this hero is not so positive as Frida, but so Rivera actually was, and in Molina’s performance he seems quite lively and out of ordinary. The other actors are maybe not so bright and memorable, but all at the level. And one more aspect I’d like to pay attention to is music by Elliot Goldenthal: hot, passionate Spanish and Mexican motives served a perfect accompaniment to the action.

To sum it up, I’d like to note that the film is by no means worth watching. There’re not so many biographical films I know that I’d like to recommend to somebody, for most of them give only one-sided portrayal of a well-known person, usually depicting only their most unattractive human features. This one has a fine cast, an interesting plot and evidently talented director and composer – so why not watching it again one day?