"Frida"

I loved this movie to pieces. I first saw the website for the film on Halloween and have been dying to go see it since. Salma Hayek also appeared on a late night talk show that night dressed as Frida, dressed as a man. (Hayek is absolutely adorable dressed as a man, which is totally unfair, in my opinion). This was the first film I've gone out to see in the three months I've lived in Los Angeles. It was worth the wait.

I remember seeing a Mexican(?) film called "Kahlo" several years ago. I don't remember very much about it, except that it was very dark - in both the lighting and the story. "Frida" by contrast is full of light and color visually. At the same time, the filmmakers didn't spare us the gore and detail of Kahlo's true life accidents and tragedies.

By looking at the website alone, you can tell that it was a labor of love for the people who made it. Passion. Pure passion. "Frida" brings to life many of the paintings that Kahlo did and the photographs we've seen of her and Diego Rivera.

(I'm not spoiling anything if you've read about her life. If not, go read about her life and then come back here.)

Diego tells Frida that he is "physiologically incapable of fidelity" when he asks her to marry him. She only asks him to be loyal and to this he agrees. She in turn accepts his proposal. They don't have a perfect marriage, but they have a great friendship and love for each other. They have an open marriage with a lot of quirks. Diego is a ladies man and Frida knows this before she marries him.

One of my favorite scenes is when an American woman tells Frida over morning-after breakfast that Frida is a better lover than her husband (!!!) Hah!

Oh, and the dance scene between Frida (Salma Hayek) and Tina Modotti (Ashley Judd) is one of the most erotic ones I've ever seen. Remember the dance scene between Anais and June in "Henry and June"? The dance scene in "Frida" was way better. (And I think that Uma Thurman is a goddess.)

I regret that my husband didn't want to see the film. He doesn't particularly like Kahlo's paintings. I tried to tell him that this movie wasn't just about her paintings. Mostly it's about the relationship between Frida and Diego and that they were born for each other.

As for Kahlo's paintings, I love them. I feel so grateful that she painted her pain. I also feel thankful for my life after seeing what she went through. Although I knew she was going to get hit by a bus, I still felt a pit in my stomach when I watched it on the big screen.

I'm too tired to write any more now but I recommend this film to people who like Kahlo's work and people who don't like it. I recommend it to bisexuals and polyamorists too.

I want to get this film when it comes out on DVD. In the meantime, I want to go see it again in the theater. Next time, preferably it will be with someone who doesn't ask "Oh, so that was a true story?" after the film. But that's a different journal entry . . .