Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Wow... what is it with advanced screenings at colleges this morning?
I just got out of an advanced screening of "Frida" here at the University of Oklahoma (who is going to kick the ever-loving shit out of Chris “Bitch” Simms and UT this Saturday :) ). All in all it was a very interesting film. It was a bit of a paradox, too funny to be a truly serious piece, but too dramatic to really be a comedy. What we get in the end is an earnest look at the life of the free-spirited genius that was Frida Kahlo. There are spoilers in the following, so be warned.
For the uninitiated “Frida” is the film about the life of the before mentioned Frida Kahlo, the celebrated Mexican surreal artist who died in 1954. Salma Hayek (Desper… wait, all us fanboys know who she is) adeptly plays the role of the fun-loving, chronically pained Frida. She does a fantastic job as she plays Frida from her carefree college days to the very end of her relatively short life. Alfred Molina (Species, Chocolat) plays her eventual husband, Diego Rivera, also a celebrated artist in his own right who is playfully harassed by Frida and her school friends. After a horrible bus accident leaves her crippled, the bedridden Frida takes up drawing and painting and becomes quite good at expressing herself in this fashion. Soon after she is able to walk again, Frida takes her art to Diego, and that’s when the fun starts. Diego takes more than a professional interest in the young Ms. Kahlo, they attend wild parties with Diego’s fellow revolutionaries, including Tina Molotti played by Ashley Judd (who my girlfriend HATED in the part), and David Alfaro Siqueiros played by Antonio Banderas.
At this point, I’ll interject that there were more than a couple of unexpected cameos in this film. We not only had the pleasure of Ms. Judd and Mr. Banderas, but Edward “Will Graham” Norton and Geoffery “Shiny McShine” Rush also made appearances as Norman Rockefeller and Leo Trotsky, respectively. Very cool, but I digress…
Diego and Frida get married, both knowing that Diego will cheat on her. This is not a huge problem for Frida, as she engages in some extra-marital frolic herself (with guy and girls :|) ). It isn’t until Frida catches Diego with her own sister that she ditches his ass. After a brief affair with the fugitive Leo Trotsky, Frida forces Deigo to reexamine his own behavior. He comes back to her, and stays with her as she continues to experience health problems until her off screen death at the end of the film.
This movie’s greatest asset lies in how it tells Frida’s story. Reality is intertwined with Frida’s dreams, but the most potent moments are Frida’s world reflected in her art. We watch as her painting literally come to life, and we are privy to her feelings through the traumas that they represent. It has it’s share of fucked up moments (Frida’s son in a jar), but for the most part the film tries very hard to remain light. Frida would have wanted it that way.
This is Frida’s story as SHE would have presented it. Acknowledging and dealing with the bad, while reveling in the good and naughty. While it’s obvious that fans of her work will take this one in, I’d recommend it to anyone simply looking for a good story to blow $8 on. It’s far beyond the rest of the shite that seems to be successful these days. Everyone one does a great job, especially Salma and Molina. Both will have their names read quite a bit next year I imagine.
Oh, and we get to see Salma’s boobs. More than once. Sometimes with other naked girls. Rejoice.
Thanks, and if you post this, call be “RoadBlock”
(BTW, I sent this to Harry, but I noted that you'd been doing most of the posting for the last few days, so i'm resending it to you)
Thanks, man. Sounds like this next guy was right there with you...
Hey guys, this is my first review, so I’ll try to keep it short. I’ll let others reviews explain in more detail.
I saw “Frida” tonight (Thursday, October 10) in Meacham Auditorium (which only has speakers at the front) at the University of Oklahoma. The reason we got to have a screening here two weeks before it opens in very limited release was thanks to an art teacher here. He was teaching about Frida Kahlo a year ago and thought that it would be great if a movie about Kahlo was made and if it could be shown at OU. He got in contact with Miramax and they eventually called him back and said okay. I’m glad they did because this was a very good movie. I decided to see the film because of the review I read at this site as well as the fact that it was free. The crowd gave the film an ovation after it was over.
This film is mainly about artist Frida Khalo (Hayek) and her relationships, especially the one between her and her husband Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina).
I will tell you up front that I am not an art aficionado and I am not even much of a Salma Hayek fan, but I enjoyed this film. One reason this film is worth seeing, even if you don’t consider yourself an art fan, is the story it tells. It is about the crazy life of a woman who is not afraid to take control of her life. The film is also very well directed. The visual styles at certain moments of the film are remarkable. There is a scene near the beginning in a hospital that is visually insane, but the thing that surprised me the most about this movie is the amount of humorous moments that take place. Plus the movie is paced out well.
I think that Salma Hayek’s performance in this movie will have a similar effect on her career that Halle Berry had following “Monster’s Ball”. I do not expect Hayek to receive the awards that Berry got, but she will be seen as a more respected actress. It amazes me that in one year two of the stars of “Wild Wild West” (Will Smith and now Salma Hayek) have given performances that have turned them into award contenders.
I only found a few problems with this film. None of them really deterred my opinion on the film. One is a lack of character development. It seems as if the other characters are there to play a part in Frida’s story. The film also made Khalo and Rivera seem to be sex-crazed, which might be true or might not be; I do not know enough about either of them to know. Another problem I had was the fact that they occasionally had nudity for nudity’s sake. It rarely helped in the telling of the story. It seemed as if it was there to help sell tickets (which it will). Which I guess isn’t too bad because this is a movie that people should take the time to see.
If you are an art fan, a Salma Hayek fan, a Frida Khalo fan, or a fan of biographical films, then this is a movie that you should not miss. Even if you are not then you should still see this movie if it comes near where you live. It is probably one of the best films to have come out so far this year.
Night Moves
Thanks, guys. I’m very interested in this one. It’s a wild trailer...
"Moriarty" out.
