Discussion 6: On Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

I think Taymor’s portrayal of the life of Frida Kahlo is beautiful. It strengths lie in its execution; its marvelously well-made and all the cinematography choices add to the themes of the plot. It’s a wonderfully romantic version of the life of a well-known artist, and it manages to capture a Frida spirit without pinning her down. I loved the film for a long time, but reading the film review after watching it for class changed my opinion of it a great deal. I simply don’t think it gives her the credit she deserves as an artist. It treats her as a woman, and defines her as Rivera’s wife more often than as herself. Throughout the film, she is shown in pain, and much of this pain stems from her relationship with Rivera. Every time he cheats on her or they fight, she is shown lapsing into a melancholy state of disenchantment accompanied by some traditional Mexican musical number. This may have been very real in her life, but I think it was a little pointless to focus on in a film about Frida herself.

Similarly, Frida’s artwork and persona all seemed to stem from her deep sense of herself and her inward gaze. Her paintings were literally “brought to life” – stylistically gorgeous, but leaving viewers with the express idea that her artwork was just about herself. True, her paintings were personal, especially compared to Rivera’s über-political artwork. But she was an artist, and art is rarely purely personal. She had her own ideas and her own take on life and the world in a broader sense, which she incorporated into her work. Those should have been given just as much attention as her personal emotions in the film.

However, the movie did a great job at capturing certain things. The music, the costume design, the cinematography and the design choices all spoke to a Mexican-ness that is important to the portrayal. Overall, I think the best part of the film was Selma Hayek’s performance as Frida. She did a wonderful job portraying her playfulness, her strength, her ability to be simultaneously masculine and feminine, and her depth as a person.