'Frida' seduces with Hayek, Taymor

Director Julie Taymor first came to critical fame with her visually stunning Broadway adaptation of Disney's "The Lion King." From here, Taymor moved her acclaimed visionary eye to Shakespeare with her directorial debut "Titus," delivering a world richly cloaked in color and surrealistic metaphor, leaving some in awe and others in angst. Taymor once again returns to this world of wonder in her most recent film "Frida," this time her focus is on surrealist painter Frida Kahlo. Working from Hayden Herrera's autobiographical book, Taymor's "Frida" seems to channel the spirit of the artist as we watch the silver screen become a canvas rich with imagery and moments of magical realism. From an uncredited puppet nightmare surgical sequence by the Brothers Quay to Kahlo's own paintings literally coming to life, Taymor has created a seductive vision that is every bit as autobiographical as the story itself.\nJust as seductive is the incredible acting of Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo. If Taymor managed to channel Kahlo, Hayek seems to actually embody the artist. In a performance of amazing and uncanny accuracy that recalls Jim Carey singing the Mighty Mouse anthem in "Man On The Moon," Hayek passionately plays and succeeds in convincing the audience that she is Kahlo. Alfred Molina turns in a strong, if not frustrating performance as mural painter Diego Riviera, the ever-unfaithful husband to Kahlo. More than once, the audience ended up shouting at the screen. "Frida" is peppered with cameos from Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Geoffrey Rush, and Edward Norton.\nKahlo lives her life openly and honestly, being a too oft-overlooked revolutionary on many fronts. From a horrifying bus accident that should have taken her life at a young age, Frida seems to move from one surrealist moment of pain to the next, and yet she stays strong. Instead of degenerating into a cliché cycle of self-destruction for her moments of self-realization, Kahlo turned the physical and emotional pain of her life into moments of art, moments that can be both bitingly acidic and tenderly beautiful in the same instant. Taymor and Hayek have managed to capture this essence, making "Frida" a film that can inspire and should not be missed.