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November 12, 2002
We saw “Frida” last night. I had really been looking forward to seeing it, because I am predictably fascinated with Frida, and Frida and Diego, and Mexican Communist artists in the 1920s. So. I’m not sure what I expected, other than a movie that would make me cry. And that’s what I got.
After we saw it last night, I was a little disappointed, because in the movie it seemed as though all Frida ever did was get injured in a trolley accident and alternately tolerate and be tormented by Diego’s womanizing. Thinking about it this morning, that makes a little more sense, considering what huge events they were in her life. Even so, she managed to do other interesting things. You would think the filmmaker might want to mention some of them.
I was a little disappointed. I wanted more Siqueiros, more Tina Modotti and Edward Weston, more of a sense of all the art and politics going on at that time, but this really isn’t that sort of a movie, and I shouldn’t be disappointed. There are books to learn about that sort of thing, and dramatization usually falls flat in one way or another. This is a movie about the spirit of Frida, the myth of Frida, and, most importantly, the paintings of Frida, which ultimately should be allowed to speak for themselves.
Posted by pogo at November 12, 2002 10:26 AM
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Comments
I’m not sure I even want to see it…she looks too gussied up in the previews for one thing. I bet they don’t show her fling with Georgia O’Keefe either? Or Trotsky? Or her participation in anti-war rallies?
I’ll probably end up seeing it out of curiosity but I’m with you - the real deal is the only way to begin to understand Frida.
Posted by: Sarah on November 12, 2002 4:52 PM
She does a pretty racy tango with Tina Modotti (to the delight of all the onlooking men, including Diego) and has some utterly pointless sex with Josephine Baker (did that really happen? probably… it seemed really arbitrary and just kind of shoved in for sexiness in the movie. It’s like that’s how they marked that she was in France then.) And you’re totally right about the gussiness. I love Salma Hayek, but even with a unibrow and moustache and limp (that comes and goes, conveniently) it’s still Salmita, you know? Bronchial Salma in traditional duds is still sexy. Trotsky was presented pretty accurately (and unsexily) as a brief affair. The politics are touched on, but briefly. There’s a demonstration and talk of the party and whatnot. I think they expected people to already understand the politics (or just not care) so it kind of worked.
I didn’t hate it. It was pretty. And tragic. Really gorgeous to look at. There were some weird filmic devices I’m still not sure where I stand on. It’s definitely worth seeing. Just don’t expect biography, and it won’t bother you.
Posted by: pogo on November 12, 2002 6:34 PM
Also, apparently a lot of Mexican folks are mad about it. It’s a pretty superficial portrayal of these huge, historical, influencial people. And that they speak in English is a point of contention. Frida’s hatred of the U.S. and Americans seemed a little downplayed, but maybe that’s because I was expecting total vitriol and they presented it a little more comically. They really don’t touch on the importance of Mexican folklore to Frida and Diego.
Really, it’s just kind of a love story, I think. Sigh. I shouldn’t have expected more from Hollywood, I know. Probably nothing would please me.
Posted by: tam on November 12, 2002 6:40 PM
You’re all a bunch of pinkos.
Posted by: seth on November 12, 2002 8:28 PM
I liked it fine. But if you want to see a turgidly dull film where movie stars jerk off about 1930s politics, I’d strongly suggest “Cradle Will Rock.”
When I was in Academic Decathlon in high school, one of the personalities that we had to study was Frida Kahlo. At the regional meet in Harlingen, most of the schools from Corpus stayed at a single hotel, and after the meet, one of the other teams piled all of their Kahlo notes in the hotel courtyard and lit a bonfire.
Posted by: jacob on November 12, 2002 8:54 PM