Frida

Rating:
Summary: Words are of little use here...
Review: I was stunned when I watched this movie.

The colours. The divine accents. The music. And Salma Hayek.

I can't say I liked this actress before - I had no idea she would be able to portay Frida so deeply and passionately. No doubt, she must pale in comparison with the great artist herself, but she was still strong, vibrant and expressive.

I was very surprised to hear that people think this movie is sexually explicit or anything of the kind. Actually, it puts no stress at all on sex. It is for sure much less indecent than any Hollywood movie made in the last few decades, perhaps save those made especially for children. The movie is erotic, though - indeed, Frida's dance with another woman is just beautiful to watch - it's fascinating and exquisite.

And I must once again stress how much I loved the Spanish accent that rang throughout the movie, as well as the intense music. The music... it was just irresistible.

Frida was a woman who I doubt can be understood by simply watching a movie. Even if it's a great movie.

And this movie IS great, which is a reason to watch it and quit looking for historical imprecisions.

Rating:
Summary: Julia Taymor takes me to Mexico
Review: deep into the thoughts of Frida, an artist who's work I've seen in Texas for years but knew little of. It is very informative to see this film and learn some linear history about Frida and Rivera.

I first saw the european release complete with saucy love scene between Frida and her female lover. Later I saw the American DVD and that scene was ommitted.

The dance scene between Ashley Judd and Selma is the hook to keep the audience glued for the rest of the film which is full of color and imagery of Mexico from the inside out.

How Frida was able to love such an unfaithful man for 30 yrs is beyond me.

As a woman I think the thing that I related to most in seeing Frida's story was her battle with her crippling injuries after the bus accident. She was young and vibrant then a changed woman after the wreck, learning to cope with it for the rest of her life. This I can relate to, especially as an artist and the impact such things can have on your work.

This DVD is definitely in my collection.

Rating:
Summary: A gorgeous whirlwind of passion, colour and duende.
Review: "Frida" possesses that mythical essence which the Spanish call duende: magic spirit or inspiration. The entire film--performances, music, visuals, explodes with passion and colour. We see Frida from her beginnings as an impetuous schoolgirl and her first introduction to future husband Diego Rivera, to her death at age forty-seven. In between we are priviledged to Frida's unique perspectives of life, love and art, everything drenched in vivid colours, ripe with possibility, a tango of pain and passion.

The cast includes many high-profile names, such as Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffry Rush, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, and Edward Norton. I am amazed at how well Julie Taymor (the Lion King Broadway musical) has captured the feel of Mexico during the early-to-mid 20th century: the revolutionary atmosphere, inequalities, the textures and smells of everyday life.

The most impressive part of the film for me was the music and visuals. The soundtrack includes a liberal dose of traditional Mexican tunes and singers, including Chavela Vargas, a legendary folk singer and one of Frida's real-life lovers. It was incredibly powerful to see the weathered face of Vargas as she serenades Salma's Frida; one can only imagine what memories she was recalling of her time with the real Frida. Mexican folk singer Lila Downs also contributes, as does Caetano Veloso and Hayek herself on "La Bruja."

Taymor uses Frida's actual paintings as inspiration for the visuals, at times combining live action with Frida's paintings, photo montages, and puppets to bring to life Frida's creative genius, trying to go behind the paintings into the events that inspired them.

The two-disc DVD comes with several short extras on visual effects, interviews with Chavela Vargas and Lila Downs, Salma's recording session, Although overly ambitious and sidetracked at times, "Frida" manages to paint an unforgettable portrait of a fiery spirit: communist, painter, wife, lover, infused with the soul and passion of Mexico.

Rating:
Summary: I rate it 5 stars and half a box of tissues
Review: So much as been said about this wonderful film, that I will keep my comments brief. It is a masterpiece -- a work of art. I enjoy it more each time I watch it.

In addition to the obvious fact that this is a love story on multiple levels, the many interviews included on the DVD demonstrate that the very creation of this jewel was an act of love. Every participant appears to have been drawn irresistibly into Salma Hayek's dream of presenting an impression of Frida Kahlo's life on the screen.

Moreover, this film goes far in capturing on camera the heart & soul of urban Mexican culture and life in the decades following the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th Century. It abounds with music and color and passion.

Let's face it: 99% of what has come out of Hollywood over the past 20 years is crap that depends upon special effects and pyrotechnics to make up for a lack of literacy, labor & talent. I am delighted that this charming and extraordinarily talented woman from Coatzacoalcos (yes, I've been there) has reminded the American film industry of what quality film making looks like.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, even if you don't like her art.
Review: "I'd rather have an intelligent enemy than a stupid friend"
The story of the love between Diego and Frida alone makes this a great movie, along with a glimpse of the political climate of that period. What was great about their love for each other, was that it was based on true camaraderie, fully knowing each others faults beforehand.
After their second marriage, when Frida was bedridden and wanted to go to the opening of her show but was forbidden to get out of bed, the speech Diego was giving about Frida , was a great testimonial to their love....and the manner in which she shows up without disobeying doctors orders is GREAT!

I only wish that Remedios Varo would have made it into the movie. I would also like to see a movie on her life and her circle of surrealist and political friends.

Rating:
Summary: Frida Kahlo's artistry shines in spite of a painful life!
Review: Bravo for this 2002 film that brought the life and times of the artist Frida Kahlo to life!

Starring Salma Hayak in the title role, the audience is treated to a visual feast of her colorful and pain-filled life. I've always admired Ms. Kahlo's paintings and yet never knew anything about her. Now, its all here, and Julie Taymor, the director, uses the backdrop of Mexico and the colors of the sun to tell this inspiring story.

Born in 1907, Frida was only fifteen years old in 1922 when she was seriously injured in an accident. Her back was shattered and a steel rod had pierced her body. For the rest of her life she was never free of pain. And yet she managed to direct her agony into magnificent works of art.

The acting is outstanding, and Salma Hayak really was able to translate the complexities of role onto the screen. Alfred Molina was cast as Diego Rivera, a fellow artist who loved her completely but could never stay faithful. Together, the couple light up the screen with their passion and jealousy, which lasted a lifetime. Frida had love affairs of her own, with women as well as men, and the romantic scenes keep the screen sizzling. It's also clear how directly her pain is translated into her art.

Mexico itself was also a star of the film. It seethes with beauty and political intrigue. And the sunshine colors are a perfect backdrop for the tempestuous romantic story. There are also some scenes in Paris and in New York and the director managed to convey a time and a place that once really existed and now is remembered with nostalgia. The political climate also comes to life, as Frida ad Diego were Marxists and had optimistic visions of changing the world for the better. In retrospect it all seems naïve, but the times were alive with the turmoil of preconceived concepts being challenged.

I loved the film, loved the characters and was caught up in the story. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Movie!
Review: This was a beautiful movie, I like it, the story is interesting maybe a bit long. The acting performance is very good and especially Selma Hayek. I love the atmophere of this movie, the colors, it's a wonderful movie if you are a fan of Hayek or Frida you will love this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Biography, art or politics?
Review: FRIDA (2002) dir. Julie Taymor.

This is essentially an art movie that made it to (some) mainstream theaters and got an Oscar nomination for its star, Selma Hayek. Though Hayek did not win the Oscar (it went to Nicole Kidman for Hours), her rendition of Frida Kahlo character, an early 20th century Mexican painter, was generally worth watching this movie. The kudos, though, go to Taymor, a director of both opera and film, who made this film an outstanding viewing experience-for select audiences.

I have to make a qualification to this praise, however. Taymor stated in her DVD commentary that she did not want to make a film about art, but about the life of an artist-showing the creation of art in the process. But basically, this was the life of an artist that she was attempting, the inner life principally, which was expressed in the art. Thus art defines life, the individual artist's, but also life in general. It was also a movie about love, about a romance, a marriage, and, broadly again, the relation of marriage (life) to art.

These are large themes, and they are not necessarily the only ones that the film contains, for the film is complex and themes interrelate and cross over to others as the story progresses, covering a period of about 25 years.

What I believe is a flaw is the dramatic structure of the film. As Julie Taymor admits, two hours of film time cannot contain the details of a lifetime. Structurally, the film is episodic, without a discernible plot, other that the ups and down of the relationship of Frida Kahlo with her husband, the painter Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), their struggles to remain committed to each other, despite his infidelities. The film does well to show the paradox of enduring friendship between two fellow artists of opposite sexes who happen to be married; the marriage fails, the friendship endures; it is not easy, and in the process, the life of Frida, whose physically well-being has been irreparably damaged by an early accident, is practically ruined. Her struggle is to overcome physical tragedy, a failed marriage, and an artistic career that refused to take off while she was alive (she has become famous since).

The film progresses along these lines, and has much to commend it: splendid period photography (despite a limited budget), a tremendous musical score by Elliot Goldenthal, a meticulous relating of the artistic creation to the life events of the protagonist unfolding on the screen, and the sense of vibrance and passion of life-love of life despite the specter of continuous disaster.

Structural weakness, though, does occur, for the viewer does not know what to make of the story-is it a romance, life and art, marital discord, feminism, lesbian love, a diatribe on sex (copulation is not much more that urinating, Diego Rivera insists, eager to rationalize his amoral dalliances), or a broad brush with political ideology? As the movie progresses beyond its middle section, Diego Rivera finds himself in New York, a Mexican communist attempting to depict Lenin on the Rockefeller Plaza; he is fired by an enraged Nelson Rockefeller (Ed Norton), and practically banished from that city. The movie plot opens in new directions, and soon Leon Trotsky (Geoffrey Rush) appears in the horizon, banished from Russia by Stalin, and taking refuge in Mexico. Things get hotter, as Trotsky and Frida embark on untimely romance. Trotsky's wife is present, and the romance of the elderly man-which might have been forgiven if platonic-reveals some lack of taste on the part of the filmmakers, for it is completely pointless and adds nothing to the mystique of the legendary fugitive from the Soviet Union, a man who clearly saw world evil figures equally divided (though different in kind) between Stalin and Hitler. The film's polemics are half-baked and not thought through, thus harming the overall artistic result. Tragic romance in one thing; delving into politics and taking no sides (was the communist Rivera a menace or not-was his art corrupt?) makes the film not ambiguous in that sense, but confused and confusing. Art relating to personal life is a well-wrought theme, and perhaps it would have sufficed. Frida's courage to endure and survive (and win) despite her handicaps-these are all well taken points. But the politics in the story lacks clear direction-we do not know, for instance, why and how a communist artist becomes corrupt by his wrong ideology (if that is the word), or whether his ideology does not matter if he is a good artist. On the other hand, Frida's art is allowed full play, her daring innovations are given enough space and a sensitive treatment as images on the screen, and her innovativeness (Breton called her a surrealist artist) and boldness in expressing inner states in disturbing imagery-these are well made points. Though the film is not preoccupied with feminism, Frida, the character, comes through as a woman artist whose odyssey may have carved a new way for female artists but also for women in general. Bill Moyers has called this movie heroic and said that "Women see in it a hero's journey." Frida Kahlo fully qualifies for such a description: She has the courage to defeat (though not entirely) physical disability, she has the courage of her convictions as an artist and never compromises, and she can stand up to the brutally a more and more famous male counterpart (Rivera), and boldly surpasses him in originality and talent. She dies as defiantly as she has lived.

In this sense, the film does superbly. We get a female artist's struggles with illness, bad luck, misfortune, betrayal, and rises above it all. Subtract politics, or incorporate it more organically, and you would get an overall superb movie. As it is, this movie is worth seeing. The whole may not be perfect, but most of the parts are brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: indescribable
Review: This is probably 1 of the best films I have seen to date. I unfortunately did not see it in the theatres and had to rent it. I had never even heard of this movie before I read the reviews about it.... It is beautifully acted, amazingly directed and the music is fantastic....Everyone who loves film will love this movie!

Rating:
Summary: A Must See
Review: The life of Frida is so compelling and interesting. This movie did not disappoint. A must see even for those who don't appreciate Frida's work (who couldn't?), because she has such an interesting life...