Frida (2002)

A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.

Director:

Julie Taymor

Writers:

Hayden Herrera (book), Clancy Sigal (screenplay)

Stars:

Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush

Won 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 46 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Salma Hayek	...	Frida Kahlo
Mía Maestro	...	Cristina Kahlo
Alfred Molina	...	Diego Rivera
Antonio Banderas	...	David Alfaro Siqueiros
Valeria Golino	...	Lupe Marín
Diego Luna	...	Alejandro 'Alex'
Edward Norton	...	Nelson Rockefeller
Alejandro Usigli	...	Professor
Saffron Burrows	...	Gracie
Loló Navarro	...	Nanny (as Lolo Navarro)
Roger Rees	...	Guillermo Kahlo
Fermín Martínez	...	Painter on Bus (as Fermin Martinez)
Amelia Zapata	...	Maid
Ashley Judd	...	Tina Modotti
Roberto Medina	...	Dr. Farril

Storyline

"Frida" chronicles the life Frida Kahlo shared unflinchingly and openly with Diego Rivera, as the young couple took the art world by storm. From her complex and enduring relationship with her mentor and husband to her illicit and controversial affair with Leon Trotsky, to her provocative and romantic entanglements with women, Frida Kahlo lived a bold and uncompromising life as a political, artistic, and sexual revolutionary.

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Plot Keywords:

bisexual woman | lesbian | sex scene | title directed by female | bisexual lead character | 

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Taglines:

Prepare to be seduced

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality/nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Canada Mexico

Language:

English French Russian

Release Date:

22 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frida Kahlo

Filming Locations:

Barrio del Alto, Puebla, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$205,996, 27 October 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$25,885,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$56,298,474

Company Credits

Production Co:

Handprint Entertainment, Lions Gate Films, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chavela Vargas, who sings a song ('La Llorona') to Frida in the bar, knew the real Frida Kahlo with whom she'd had an affair.

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Goofs

In the movie when Frida loses the baby it is after Diego had painted the Detroit mural, and they are already in New York. But, in fact Frida lost the baby when Diego just started painting the Detroit mural in 1932. She lost the baby at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Also, there is a scene that shows her painting "Henry Ford Hospital" and shows the finished painting without the words on the frame of the bed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frida Kahlo: Careful, guys. This corpse is still breathing. Try to get me there in one piece.

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Connections

Referenced in Samba in Mettmann (2004)

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Soundtracks

Battle to the Death
Written by Harry Bluestone and Emil Cadkin
Publishing Carbet Special Accounts
Affiliation BMI

User Reviews

Life as art and vise versa

This is an interesting movie, but less interesting perhaps than the reactions it draws.

First, the nuts and bolts review. Selma Hyack does a great job portraying the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who marries, puts up with, and in some ways, maybe even excells famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. It's a tough role and Hyack seems to let it all hang out in many ways.

Alfred Molina is good, but not great as Rivera, and the rest of the supporting cast also performs well, including a cameo appearance by Ashley Judd as Italian born-photographer and leftwing activist Tina Modotti.

The direction is crisp and effective throughout, and the colors and ambiance of the film are simply great. This is a movie about artists and it fullfills the first requirement of art. It is visually stunning to look at.

What intrigues me is the heated debate this generates among those who know and admire Frida. It may well be impossible for anyone to make a bio picture that satisfies purists, those who are quite familiar with the subject matter. But purists have to realize that movies are too expensive and difficult to make (this one took decades)for the moviemakers to concentrate on such a small audience. They have to look at the big picture and make a film that is understandable to mass audiences, or else count on losing millions of dollars.

For myself, I knew next to nothing about Frida Kahlo, only that I had seen some of her paintings and that she was Rivera's wife. Since I like Rivera's work, I went to see the film. But I knew more about Tina Modotti when I walked into the theater than I did about Frida.

Whether this was an accurate portrayal of her character and life, I haven't a clue. But I do feel I came away knowing a lot more about her than I used to.

My single gripe is that the film seemed to make Frida take a back seat to her husband when it came to art. She is portrayed as someone who is very unsure about the value of her own work. But I can't get too mad about that, because Frida may have been that way in real life for all I know.

I am a leftist politically, but I think we often get much too caught up in politics and rhetoric and often assign political meanings to things when they don't apply. It is very, very complicated to make a biography and no 2 hour film is going to capture every facet of a complex person's personality, mucy less cover every aspect of their lives.

Overall,I'd say "Frida" accomplished its limited mission. It told me something about an artist I knew little about. I will now look for more of her work. I provided me with some fine acting, direction, etc. And perhaps best of all, allowed me to spend two hours in Mexican culture in some way, shape or form. I enjoyed the experience.