Frida Khalo Biography

For many people in the world art is made up of two different categories, paintings and sculptures. But, there are some forms that are almost never thought of as art. The forms that are being discussed are videos and movies. Films and videos, much like other forms of art, are made to provoke an emotion from the viewer whether it be positive and negative. The fact that they last longer and have a ton of movement is what makes films so enticing to its viewers. Another detail that makes movies so interesting is the amount of work that must go into every movie. On average, it takes a little more than a year to make a film and every film is on average less than 2 hours long. But, let’s say you are making a documentary about an artist vital to modern
To better understand if the film did do a good job representing Frida’s life, it is necessary that we know a little about Frida beforehand. Frida Khalo was born July 6, 1907 in Mexico City and grew up there as well. At a young age she would go see Diego Rivera, who would later become her husband, paint a mural in her school. But, it was not until she was 18 that she began to paint. It was right after her bus accident that Frida started to paint and painted her first self-portrait. Then about three years after her accident she reconnected with a man that really encouraged her artwork. That man being another outstanding Mexican artist, Diego Rivera. After meeting with him again she later married him at the age of 22 and then had one of her paintings shown in a gallery in New York. Also during her marriage with Rivera, she had two miscarriages, which she also made a painting about. Then in 1939 she painted on of her most famous painting that featured two different Frida’s, this being shortly after she divorces Diego Rivera. In 1950 Frida became more ill and had many operations and examinations done to her. Then on July 13, 1954 Frida died in Mexico City, Mexico in her beloved
When looking back at the film we see that Julie Taymor did a fantastic job while compressing Frida’s life into a two-hour film. I say this because Taymor does use all of the important events of Frida’s life and puts them all together in a way that flows. What is meant by this is that she put about 40 years of a woman’s life in two hours but doesn’t make it feel dragged on or confusing. Another compelling tool Taymor uses in her film is when she lets us see into the mind of Frida at specific time. One example of this is after Frida’s bus accident, while she is in the hospital. While in the hospital we see into Frida’s head and we see the ideas she gets that will later be turned into paintings. These insights into Frida’s mind, were for me one of the most important parts of the movie. This being because you got to see where Frida got the ideas of her paintings before they were on canvas. As said earlier the average film takes about 1 year to complete and usually last about two hours. So how do you make a film about a compelling artists’ lifetime, while still keeping key facts about their life? To view an example of this one must watch Frida. Julie Taymor did a splendid job at this by compiling 40 years of Frida’s life and putting it into a film that flows as smooth as silk. All while keeping the idea of art and color. Making Frida a must-see