Amy Rutledge: Seeing Red
Seeing Red: A Response to Frida
When watching this film, at times I honestly felt as though I were actually in one of the artist's paintings. The use of contrasting hues, most of which were bright, bold colors, and the Mexican scenery all contributed to giving the viewer the feeling of being in one of the compositions. Also, the viewer could really see how beautiful Frida's life was; even through the times of turmoil.
In almost every scene, Frida was seen dressed in bold colors, most of which were in contrast with the other pieces on her body. When she wore green, there were also pieces of red. When she wore patterns, they were a combination of rich hues such as yellow or gold and black or blue. This might have been used to draw focus to Frida in such scenes such as the one when she brings some of her paintings to Diego to critique. He was up in a balcony painting a mural on a wall. His surroundings consisted of beige buildings, and dusty dirt- all creating a monochromatic setting. However, Frida was dressed in a bright red coat, starkly contrasting with the dullness of the rest of the scene. The viewer is immediately focused on her and what she has to say rather than what is going on outside. When she and Diego went out to a bar, she was wearing a blouse with a black and yellow pattern that emphasized her outstanding figure when she was singing with some other members of the crowd.
The color red appeared in almost every scene. Whether it was on a character (most commonly Frida) or was included in another subject such as flowers in a vase or the juice in a clear glass, red reoccurred. This color might represent passion- which is the very core of Frida's life; anger- which is an emotion that occurred often between her and Diego; or love- another feeling between Frida and her surroundings and even how she even felt about her own life. Frida was a fiery woman and what better to emphasize this than the boldness of red.
Throughout the film, there were times in which one of their paintings transformed into an active scene during their lives. This use of editing not only helped the viewer to feel as though they were in a painting, but also helped them connect with the artist's motivation for creating the piece. Another way the director chose to help the viewer connect with the artist was the use of scenery and flashbacks. At the beginning of the film, Frida's village and house were shown. They contained beautiful objects and bold colors, and peacocks were walking around in the streets. Frida's bed was even beautiful and bright- the pillows were full of gracious embroidery and patterns that bounced off her outfit as she lay in her bed. The unusual life Frida lead was reiterated here when she, in her bed, was carried down the street amongst the ordinary lives of other people carrying on with their daily chores.
Again, her life was filled with both beauty and turmoil. However, her life throughout the movie remained surrounded by artistic elements. For example, when the bus crashed causing her to be brutally injured, there was a take that showed her body covered in gold dust and of course, blood. Despite it being a very tragic and life- altering scene, the director chose to include the gold dust to make the event seem beautiful and radiant. Another example would be when Frida loses the baby, she is wearing only white, laying in a white bed, covered in blood from the waist down. She then is taken to the hospital and demands to see her mutilated baby which is given to her in a jar (with a red tint of course). These two scenes reflect directly upon her painting that she created while she was in the hospital. Strange to most, yes, but not for Frida. These scenes are vivid reminders of what kind of person Frida was and what sort of life she lived.
Without the use of these elements, the viewer might have not been so impacted by the film. The stark contrasts add drama and allure, all while directing focus to the significant values within a scene. The vivid imagery and use of color mimics Frida's artwork and her perceptions of the world around her. The people who constructed this film efficiently portrayed Frida's life as the ultimate masterpiece.
Works Cited.
Taymor, Julie, dir. Frida. Lions Gate Films, 2002.
posted by Thivai Abhor @ 4:07 PM
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4 Comments:
Biva Chitkara's response to another student's review
I agree with Amy Rutledge and her response to Frida. I especially liked her where she talked about the paintings coming to life and how the paintings revealed much of Frida's life. I think the director did an excellent job of portraying the character of Frida through her paintings. After her horrific accident, all Frida was able to do was paint. As an artist, Frida paints her life as she sees it therefore making it know to the world. When the director made the paintings come to life, it was really did draw the audience in more than they were before. The editing techniques used in this film were amazing. An editor that is able to come up with various ways to draw the audience in making the film more interesting makes the movie all the more better. When Frida paints the unborn child, the woman stabbed, and her body in the bed, they were pieces that were controversial. But it revealed her thoughts, feelings, and personality to the world that made so many fall in love with her work.
The colorful scenes in this film were magnificent. One of my favorite scenes in the movie was where Frida draws the butterflies on her cast. Later on, she painted them with various colors making it seem like a dress. It was very creative and her use of color was beautiful. Frida was able to create her own style which made her and even better artist. The color red is a powerful color. Amy mentioned that the color red could represent passion, anger, or love. This is true because red was a prominent color used through out the movie. The reason I think Frida used the color red is because it stands out. It’s a dominant color and in Frida’s life someone was always trying to control her. But red being a dominant color in her paintings give her the upper hand.
The initial reason why I chose to comment on your response is because I was really intrigued by the title, “Seeing Red.” Someone who has not viewed the film Frida could easily perceive the title to project anger with lots of exciting emotion. I immediately picked up on the fact that you were referring to the use of color in the film. I recently responded to the film Ame`lie mainly in part because of how saturated in color the film was. Julie Taymor, the director of Frida, similarly used color to tell the story of the protagonist. I like how you mention that the bold colors that Frida wears throughout the film directs the focus of the film on her. Likewise, I noticed that in the scene where see visits Diego (while he was painting a mural) to ask his professional opinion of her work Frida is dressed very vibrantly in red; the beige buildings that surrounded her definitely added to the effect. The color red did continue to surface in scene after scene, whether in her clothes or in her surroundings. I think you are accurate in your take on how the color red represented Frida. The characteristics of love, passion, and anger truly encompass the person of Frida Kahlo.
It is releaving to me to read how you discribe Frida’s paintings as compositions that you could get lost in or become one with. I am familiar with the the painting The Two Fridas, it is a chilling interpretation of her double identity. When I first veiwed this painting it shocked and repulsed me, but now I see the beauty in it aside from the grusome details. The colors of Frida’s Mexican heritage found in her clothing really are beautifull. Thank you for your response, I really enjoyed it.
James Kiser
The use of flashback in the beginning of Frida was an effective hook for the audience. While I agree that red was so representative of Frida herself, the whole color pattern to me was more representative of the life of Frida, the artist, and the woman.
I was especially touched by the soft peach color dress that Frida wore in the market scene. After she and Diego finally advanced their relationship to a physical one, the bananas, peaches, and melons were in direct connection with the color of her dress and the dewy complexion of a woman in love. The next scene also showed Frida in a peach gown, while in bed with Diego. So although red would seem to be Frida’s signature color, and I do agree that this shows the passion, love and violence in the movie, I feel that the director used every color very specifically to show Frida’s mood, attitude, place in life, and her acceptance of her own limitations.
I also agree that Frida’s bed was a symbol of her heritage, culture, and unique personality.
The beauty of her surroundings and the colorful background of her heritage, along with her androgynous sexual orientation was also represented through the use of color (an example of which is the loss of her baby and the red and white palette and then the dull blue and grey background that was used when she returned to visit her home after her mothers death). One of the opening scenes of the movie was a peacock in the colorful family courtyard, which contrasted the same setting after her mother’s death.
One issue that I would have to comment on was also the social unrest and political turmoil of this time. These were also represented in her life’s story and the use of self portraits. I really enjoyed the 3-D effects that were used to make the audience feel that they were in one of Frida’s paintings.
Haley Wilson
Frida. What a beautiful and still beautifully tragic life to view. It truly could have been the tragedies in Frida's life that made it so intricate and stunning. Adversity builds character, and Frida's life had no lack of either. She was such a colorful and diverse person that it seems a very wise choice to utilize such bright colors in her presence in the film. She is no oridinary woman, and her life certainly is no oridinary tale. Sometimes when I aspire to live the kind of life someone might want to make a film about after I die, I think of the fact that it would never be as captivating as Frida's, never. Her art was a reflection of her tangled existence and mimicks her life with the kind of clarity only those who truly knew her could ever positively identify with. Those who see a glimpse of her life through this movie, however, get a closer look than most into the inspirations behind her art and it certainly helps to shed new light on the messages and meanings in her very personal work. I would say that nothing Frida ever accomplished was not an extremely personal venture, and her work as seen in this movie helps to tie specific works to a time period in Frida's life. This serves to allow the viewer to see her art with more compassionate eyes as well as a more understanding heart.
Frida is not for everyone, as Frida Kahlo's life tended to challenge the conventional, but is definitely worth the time and is a well executed piece on her life and should be treated as a work of art in and of itself. The performance given by Salma Hayek is of the highest caliber and she makes the transition into Frida Kahlo so completely that the veiwers mind is left without a trace of Salma's true identity, a feat both admirable and envied. I recommend that any person who values art as a beautiful medium for expression see this film.
-Cadence
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