Stars: Salma Hayek, Geoffrey Rush, Alfred Molina, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton

Director: Julie Taymor

Summary: Based on the biography by Hayden Herrera, this is the story of the life of the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Along with her husband, Diego Rivera, she took the art world by storm and her private life was no less colourful...

Brilliant colours that bring Frida Kahlo's Mexico City to vibrant life combine with a captivating performance by Salma Hayek to make director Julie Taymor's FRIDA a fascinating film. Starting and ending with Frida on her deathbed, the film spans the famous painter's life from her teenage years to her death at the young age of 47. From start to finish, Frida is portrayed as a relentlessly energized, self-righteous, headstrong, assertive woman. She had liberal views and a socialist political stance. She was bisexual and promiscuous. She drank and abused painkillers, sang and danced, and fearlessly poured her pain and beauty into her paintings. At the age of 18, Frida was horribly injured in a bus accident. Though she learned to walk again, she lived her life in physical agony, enduring multiple surgeries, and eventually needing a wheelchair. Yet her condition did not stop her from having an exciting, tumultuous life as the wife of famed artist and womaniser Diego Rivera, who mentored her in her own work and encouraged her passions. While Frida's life is the main focus, her work is always present and the action of the film often fades into paintings and vice versa. However, the film only hints at the recognition and worldwide display that her painting received after her death. Taymor has created a lively and dramatically emotive film with FRIDA, capturing her endearing resiliency with colour, music and, of course, art.

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Salma Hayek makes up for many bad movies with her fierce performance in the sumptuous biopic Frida. Hayek plays the Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, whose tempestuous life with her unfaithful husband, muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), drives the story. Maverick director Julie Taymor (Titus, the stage production of The Lion King) pulls out a wealth of gorgeous visuals to capture everything from the horrific bus accident that damaged Kahlo's spine to her and Rivera's trip to New York City, where Rivera's political leanings ruptured a commission from the Rockefeller family. Though the script spends too much time telling us how great Frida's painting is (rather than trusting in the power of the images themselves), Taymor's dynamic energy and Kahlo's forceful personality give Fridagenuine emotional impact. The superb cast includes Roger Rees, Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Geoffrey Rush, Antonio Banderas and Edward Norton. The Oscar-winning score is by Taymor's husband, Elliot Goldenthal. --Bret Fetzer

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary - 1. Julie Taymor - Director, 2. Eliot Goldenthal - Composer, Featurette - 1. In Conversation with Salma Hayek
Year:	2002
Release Date:	February 16, 2004
Runtime:	118 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 888842
Label:	Miramax
Keywords:	General, Drama, Frida
Genre:	Drama