The latest from the Exhibition on Screen team is a biopic about Mexican artist FRIDA KAHLO directed by Ali Ray.
Who was Frida Kahlo really? Many people think they know her, but who was the woman behind the bright colours, the monobrow, and the floral crowns? It seeks to find out – what were her intentions behind her paintings? What is the story behind her work?
The documentary was created in collaboration with experts who knew Kahlo, and those that have studied and curated her work. The film includes voice-overs of letters Kahlo wrote, revealing her deepest emotions and analyses and uncovers the symbolism and secrets of her paintings .
There are interviews with museum and art gallery curators ( as well as Kahlo’s great niece). We see The Blue House ( now the Frida Kahlo Museum ) and Kahlos’ bedroom with the bespoke bed and mirror enabling her to keep on painting as well as photos of Kahlo and scenes of Mexico City then and now . Several of Kahlo’s paintings are photographed in detailed closeup and the technique and subject matter discussed and placed in context.
Kahlo’s works are often based on the natural environment and artifacts of Mexico, and also mentioned is the influence of ‘ ex-votos ‘ ( religious paintings, an offering to a Saint or a divinity ) and in later works the allusions to the works of El Greco. The influence of Dali, Breton and Surrealism and how her works changed in style over the years is also considered.
Suffering from polio as a child, Kahlo focused on developing her creativity after an extremely serious bus accident that occurred when she was 18 which left her with a broken spine among other horrific injuries.
Her turbulent, fiery relationship with her husband Diego Riviera (they married in 1928) is a major topic in the film and we see the double portraits Kahlo painted as well as portraits of Diego Riviera and also his artwork.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s they traveled in Mexico and the United States together. We then track Kahlo and Diego Riviera through the1940’s when Kahlo was involved in exhibitions in the US and Mexico and also worked as an art teacher. Later we follow her sad decline in health.
Some of Kahlo’s iconic works (and some lesser-known ones) are examined and discussed. Some are photographed in lustrous closeup and it is interesting to note how her injuries and various operations affected her oeuvre.
We see for example -‘A Few Small Nips’ – depicting a murdered , nude and bleeding Kahlo in bed, Diego Riviera standing by. It is a comment on their relationship at the time and Kahlo feeling that she was ‘murdered by life’.
‘What the Water Gave Me’ – again Surrealist in style, Kahlo observing her feet in the bath and gazing at a volcanic eruption on a ‘ tropical island paradise ‘ while considering important elements in her life.
‘My Nurse and I’ which shows Kahlo’s meticulousness and attention to detail. The work shows Kahlo as a young baby at her nurse’s breast. The nurse is portrayed as goddess like, masklike and impassive yet caring.
‘Without Hope’ is a very strange, Surrealist style work showing Kahlo in bed recovering from yet another operation and haunted by death and nightmares.
‘Henry Ford Hospital’ shows a nude, bleeding Kahlo recovering from another miscarriage grieving her lost child.
‘The Two Fridas’ – shows Kahlo’s Mexican and European sides. The intersecting veins and hearts and the bleeding are probable allusions to her relationship with Diego Riviera and one of her miscarriages
‘The Broken Column’ – which shows a bare breasted Kahlo, tortured like a saint with the nails of pain all over her body and the special complicated support brace she wore. The column is both her spinal column and the cracked fractured architectural column.
‘The Love Embrace of the Universe, The Earth=(Mexico)’ Myself’ and ‘Senor Xolotl’ has many layers of meaning. Kahlo is shown holding a nude Diego Riviera and it is considered that the painting depicts many of Kahlo’s struggles especially with motherhood womanhood and Diego Riviera.
Various self-portraits are also reviewed (for example ‘Portrait With Braid,’ ‘Self Portrait With Monkey’, ‘Self Portrait With Cropped Hair’, ‘Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace’ and ‘Hummingbird’, to name just a few ) as well as the portraits of Luther Burbank and Kahlo with Dr Farrill .
A fascinating, at times darkly disturbing film, we see Kahlo’s passion and lust for life, people and politics come vividly across in this film, similar in some ways but quite different to other recent biopics about Kahlo, which highlights the source of her obsessive inspiration, productivity and endurance.
Running time 90 minutes.
FRIDA KAHLO is screening in cinemas across Australia from Tuesday 8th March, International Women’s Day.
See it in Sydney at Dendy Cinemas Newtown, Palace Chauvel Paddington, Palace Norton Street Leichardt, Hayden Opehum Picture Palace and Riverside Theatres Parramatta.
Or find your nearest screening at https://exhibitiononscreen.com/find-a-screening/
Featured image : Self portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird