Film Review

'Frida' (2002)

Director: Julie Taymor

Cast: Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo, Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera, Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky, Mía Maestro as Cristina Kahlo, Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller, Roger Rees as Guillermo Kahlo, Patricia Reyes Spíndola as Matilde Kahlo.

Synopsis: There were two great accidents in her density: that bus, after which her life was turned into a sheer torment, and the husband, being unfaithful to her in spite of everything. Of course, failures and pain overshadowed her life, but they not so much destroyed the faith in art, as made it indestructible.

Review: Frida (Salma Hayek) was a Mexican painter; however, not all at once she came to that profession. At the age of 18 she was seriously injured in the accident, after which the young woman spent in bed for a year. During that period Frida began to draw, mainly self-portraits, describing her feelings and life. Her vocation threw her and the artist and Communist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina) together, who was unfaithful to her, but she loved him so much that forgave everything. But after he slept with her sister (Mía Maestro), they parted and Frida went to Paris, which became a sensation of the thematic exhibition of the Mexican art. A few years later, the woman’s health became much worse; she couldn't walk, but continued painting. And after her first exhibition in Mexico was held, she died of pneumonia.

The film contains several problems, the main one of which is the role of art in the human life, as it evoked the main character to life, prompted her to defend their ideals. The portraits revealed to us the artist’s inner world: the inward conflicts, emotions, fears, disappointments, turbulent relationships. Only by means of the paintings and the portraits she was able to express loneliness and pain, which could not be put into words.

Separately I’d like to emphasize the actors’ performances, as the success of the documentary film depends on their acting skills. Therefore, I must say that Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina coped with this task perfectly. Everything - their speech, expressions, and the slightest movements - showed how the actors got into their characters’ densities. And I really like Salma Hayek’ acting, I have seen movies with her participation, but "Frida" became her masterpiece. In addition, costumes played not the less important role. In the picture there was a combination of colours, which at first sight seems to be impossible: an aggressive, in some moments shocking, but very harmonious.

After watching, on the one hand, I still have some unpleasant aftertaste, emptiness - I'm impressed with the main character’s tragic life. But on the other hand, the painter cannot not to evoke a feeling of respect and admiration. However, I think the main moment in the documentary film (apart from the life of the main character) plays the director’s ability to present this biography. "Frida" is a perfect combination of a dramatic life story and irreproachable work of Julie Taymor, and as a result it is impossible to put my admiration into words.