Monday 26 April 2004

On the way home from the Thabor on Sunday, I dropped in to TNB (Théatre Nationale de Bretagne, and also my local cinema) and saw Frida, a part of their festival of "other desires". It was a film I'd missed despite my fervent viewing habits around the time of its initial release a couple of years ago, and maybe its a good thing, because I think I appreciate it more now. The most critically discussed (and, indeed, acclaimed) part of the film was Salma Hayek's acting, but for me the most interesting part was the way the director incorporated Kahlo's art into the picture. I wouldn't know Kahlo from J-Lo, but the movie was at pains to incorporate her images in many forms, in style - Hayek is constantly garbed as Kahlo was in her self-portraits - and also more vividly in scenes where the action fades into or out of a still painting. The latter are handled pretty well, considering the difficulty, and the former also. In all, its a pretty good flick, with good performances from Hayek and also from Alfred Molina, as Diego Rivera. Geoffrey Rush also makes a chameleon showing as Leon Trotsky, continuing the impression that it has been made compulsory to include an Australian in every new Hollywood film.

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