Thursday, September 17, 2015

September 17 - Frida

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on September 17. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

FRIDA                                 


Frida Kahlo is an unconventional teen in 1920’s Mexico. On September 17, 1925 [8:03 to 10:45] she’s injured in a bus accident. During her lengthy and painful recovery she starts to draw and paint. She asks the prominent artist Diego Rivera if she should continue and he says yes. She gradually becomes a part of Rivera’s circle of radical leftists. They have an affair and are later married, with Frida telling the philandering Rivera she expects loyalty, if not fidelity. They go to New York City, so Rivera can work on a mural for the lobby of Rockefeller Center. Frida has a miscarriage and returns briefly to Mexico when her mother dies. Rivera paints in the face of Lenin, then refuses to remove it, Rivera is fired and the mural is painted over. Frida and Rivera return to Mexico. They live in two side-by-side houses. Then Frida learns Rivera is having an affair with her sister, leading to their separation and alcoholic depression. They reunite when Leon Trotsky comes to Mexico. Frida and Trotsky begin an affair, which he later ends. This leads to another separation between Frida and Rivera. She moves to Paris. When she returns she and Rivera divorce. Trostky is murdered and Rivera is considered a suspect. When he can’t be found Frida is jailed for a time.  She remarries Rivera and later dies, after having to have her leg amputated.      

An interesting biopic. Frida was certainly unusual. This film uses interesting special effects,  moving from pictures into live action.

Frida Kahlo by Elizabeth Carpenter (D.A.P., New York, 2007) at page 94 gives the date of her accident 

Producers - Sarah Green, Salma Hayek and Jay Polstein

Director - Julie Taymor

Screenplay - Clancy Sigal, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas

Awards – The movie won the Best Makeup and Best Original Score Oscars. It was also Nominated for the Best Actress(Hayek), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Song at the 75th Academy Awards.   

Runtime – 2 hours 3 minutes

Released – August 29, 2002

Starring -

Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo
Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera
Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky
Mía Maestro as Cristina Kahlo
Ashley Judd as Tina Modotti

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015


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