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For anyone who didn’t believe
that Salma Hayek could make the transformation into Frida
Kahlo, the tortured Mexican painter and wife of Diego Rivera, the opening
scene is a good indication to the contrary.
Hayek, fully dressed in
traditional garb and complete with Kahlo’s unibrow and moustache, is being
hauled out of her home lying in her four-poster bed by a gang of laborers
down a flight of stairs, bed and all. Then, the story truly begins with
flashbacks to her days in school.
Salma Hayek, who has been
living in the States for more than a decade, has been making her way to a
more recognized position in Hollywood, slowly breaking the film stereotype
of the Mexican woman as domestic help. Her intelligence and beauty along
with her perseverance have been her formula for success in the competitive
celluloid market. She has the ability to surround
herself with the right people at the right time.
Eight years since acquiring the
project, and a number of not so good movies, had to pass before Salma’s
dream of playing such a complicated, creative, and surreal character would
come true.
Frida was
preceded by In the Time of the Butterflies where Salma
portrayed a revolutionary from the Dominican Republic who was murdered
along with her sisters in the early 60’s. This role cemented her position
as a voice for strong Latin-American women.
Julie Taymor, the
director of Titus and the Broadway version of The Lion
King, was a definitive impact in the creative direction of the
movie – her experience in religious and esoteric themes made her the prime
candidate to translate the life of Kahlo, which in its truths, was almost
too fantastic, surreal and devastating to be believed. Colorful, dynamic,
incendiary, full of tradition, yet contradictory in their approach, the
scenes came quickly one after another, leaving us breathless, with a
constant sense of anticipation, or even dread, of what would happen next.
Alfred Molina,
who not only portrayed Diego Rivera but also interpreted almost by heart
such a passionate life and way of thinking, couldn’t |
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have been a better choice for
the role. Molina smoothly takes us to the interiors of the fiery, talented
and idealistic mind of one of the most recognized muralists of the first
half of the 20th Century.
Yet with Hayek, at times, it
became noticeable for me, especially as a Mexican conscious of the
difference in cultural strata, that her presentation could become too
cute, and her vocal inflections were not characteristic of a woman of that
period and upbringing who had suffered so much (although it is clear that
every ounce of Hayek’s passion for this character and this performance
went in to her transformation, and her effort is admirable).
To me, this film will remain a major piece of art full of strong visual
imagery, excellent location scenery (parts of which - the trolley scene
for example - were shot in my home town of San Luis Potosi), intense
character studies which included
Ashley Judd
as Italian photographer Tina Modotti,
Valeria
Golino
as Rivera’s ex –wife Lupe Marín,
Antonio
Banderas
as the painter David Alfara Siquieros, and many more. Vivid special
effects only serve to further enhance Frida Kahlo’s art. Also notable is
the excellent musical performance of Mexican-American interpretative
singer
Lila Downs,
who appeared frequently throughout the movie and added a great deal of
folkloric authenticity to the film.
FRIDA MOVIE Official Site
SALMA HAYEK Unofficial Site
LILA DOWNS Official Site (choose Espańol,
English or Français)
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