Frida (2024) Movie Script
1
[quiet rustling, creaking]
[soft sigh]
[match strikes]
[sizzling]
[exhaling]
[object dragging, creaking]
[exhaling]
[paintbrush scraping on canvas]
[Frida Kahlo speaking Spanish] In my life, I've
only painted the honest expression of myself.
To say what I couldn't in any other way.
[brushstrokes on canvas]
I paint because I need to.
[intriguing music playing]
[lively, rhythmic music playing]
[heart thumping rhythmically]
[contemplative music playing]
Who would've thought
that stains of color can come to life
and help one live?
Mexico was my entire universe.
I was happy.
[birds chirping]
[child giggling]
I ran through every corner of my yard
and I'd shout and laugh from under a tree.
[bell tolling]
[quiet crowd chatter]
My mom was obsessively religious.
She invited priests to
hold Mass at my house
and her friends would
come to pray the rosary.
While everyone was praying
I tried not to laugh.
[lighthearted music playing]
I remember asking about the
Mysteries of the Bible.
They'd always say,
"To dedicate oneself more to God."
[crying]
But I kept bothering the priest
with questions.
How was Christ born?
Was the Virgin Mary really a virgin?
They threw me out
for spoiling it for the other kids.
[camera shutter snaps]
My father was a photographer.
I was fascinated with his studio.
Papa was an atheist
and the only one in the house who read
books about science,
geography, and history.
[wistful music playing]
I went everywhere with my father.
He would paint small
landscapes by the river
with watercolors and oil paints.
Papa kept his box of paints
tucked away in his studio.
And I really wanted that box.
[upbeat music playing]
Green
good warm light
Magenta
Aztec
Mexican red
old blood of the prickly pear
Brown
color of mol
earth
Yellow
sun and happiness
I was a girl who walked
through a world full of colors
of tangible forms.
Everything was mysterious
and held secrets.
Deciphering the world was like a game.
[fireworks whistling, popping]
I wanted to be a doctor
so I attended the National
Preparatory School.
[quiet, distant chatter]
I didn't like it at first because
I had to go upstairs with the other girls.
All the girls would say
"Frida is a little strange."
[spirited music playing]
I ended up befriending a group called
the Cachuchas.
We wore caps
and I was the only girl.
[Alejandro Gmez Arias] When Frida arrived
at the school she was rebellious
and defied tradition.
She was drawn to rebellious young men
and she joined our group.
[Frida] I followed the Cachuchas everywhere
and took part in all of their mischief.
[fireworks whistling]
[sizzling]
[popping rapidly]
[Baltasar Dromundo]
We strapped firecrackers on a dog
and we sent it into the school.
We wreaked havoc
and got all the classes suspended.
Frida was standing in a hallway
dying of laughter.
[Frida] I would go to the boys' classes
instead of going to mine.
I barely passed my classes
or I would cheat to get good grades.
[quiet, distant chatter]
Alejandro was a leader at school.
He took part in all of
the student protests.
I'm attracted to intelligent people.
I choose those I feel are superior to me.
My Alex
My beloved Alex
My Alex
[sighs]
I wanted Alejandro to fuck me
but he preferred to tell me nice things.
He'd recite poetry
and give me kisses and hugs.
I think that everything
that gives pleasure is good.
[wistful music playing]
breath
scent
armpit
love
abyss
- [traffic passing]
- [lively chatter]
[trolley bell dinging]
[whistle blowing]
That day I took a bus with Alejandro.
I sat next to the handrail
and Alejandro sat next to me.
Shortly after getting on the bus
the crash started.
[tense music playing]
[Alejandro]
A trolley approached our bus slowly
hitting us straight in the middle.
The bus had a strange elasticity.
It bent more and more.
When it reached its breaking point
it burst into a thousand pieces.
[crashing, crackling]
[Frida] It wasn't violent
but silent.
Slow.
The handrail went through me
like a sword through a bull.
[atmospheric music playing]
It's a lie that one realizes the crash.
A lie that one cries.
I had no tears.
I didn't understand
the kind of wounds I had suffered.
I thought I came out unscathed.
[Alejandro] I ended up under the trolley.
As soon as I was able to get up
I looked for Frida.
Horrified, I realized that
a piece of iron had pierced her body.
A man said, "We need to take it out."
He put his knee on Frida's body
and pulled it out.
[siren blaring]
Frida screamed so loud
you couldn't hear the ambulance's siren.
CRASH WRECKS BUS
The doctors didn't think
they could save her.
[gentle music playing]
[Frida] It will take a long time
for the fracture in my pelvis to mend
and for the wounds in my foot to heal.
The doctor thinks
I will have to stay like this
for three or four months.
[mournful music playing]
I now inhabit a world of pain
transparent
like ice.
It no longer holds mystery.
[soft rumbling]
The crash destroyed me
but at least Lady Death didn't take me.
Everyone tells me not to despair
but no one knows what it's like for me
having been free in the
streets all my life.
[sighs]
I feel trapped by the walls in my room.
I'm alone with my soul.
My mother devised a wooden contraption
where I could attach my papers.
She also hung a mirror over my bed
so I could use myself as a model.
I started painting portraits of my friends.
[wistful music playing]
Dear Agustn
I painted your portrait with love.
Beautiful Alicia
I'm sending you all my love.
Your pal, Friducha.
Miguel, little brother
don't ever forget about Cachucha number 9
Frida Kahlo.
Alex
this is so you don't forget me.
Don't stop writing to me.
Here is my portrait, Alex.
It'll be at your house in a few days.
I beg you, hang it low
so you can see it
as if you were looking straight at me.
[leaves rustling gently in wind]
After a year in many casts
I still felt very sore
and had little strength.
But I want to be productive
with the health I have left.
- [rousing music playing]
- [lively chatter, chanting]
When the Revolution started
I was aware of what was happening.
I was four when I witnessed Zapata's
peasant fight against the establishment.
[Emiliano Zapata] The peasants took up arms
to seize the bread that the rich denied them.
Land and freedom.
[Frida] In Mexico, coraje means
becoming violent when you face injustice.
I feel the pain of the oppressed.
I feel the need to fight for them.
That's why as soon as they allowed me
to walk after the accident
I joined the Communist party.
[crowd chanting, clamoring]
MEXICAN ART REFLECTS NEW VALUES
ART AND REVOLUTION
The spirit of the Revolution
was the foundation for my determination.
[pensive music playing]
Diego Rivera was painting frescoes
at the Ministry of Education.
Diego is a communist.
His creative work is at the service of
the social revolution.
He has great taste.
He admires everything that emanates beauty
whether it comes from
a woman or a mountain.
[laughter]
I had only seen him from far away
but I admired him greatly.
One day I brought him four paintings
and just like that I said
"Diego! Get down!"
[Diego Rivera] I looked down from my
scaffold and saw a girl of about eighteen.
She had a pretty body and a delicate face.
[Frida]
Look, I haven't come to flirt with you.
Even though you're a womanizer
I've come to show you my paintings.
If you're interested, let me know.
If not, that's fine.
So I can find another
way to help my parents.
[Diego] I was impressed.
Her canvases revealed
an unusual expressive energy.
"In my opinion, you must continue
to paint," I said at once.
[Frida] He told me, "You have talent."
That's when my courtship with Diego began.
- [iLe & Natalia Lafourcade: "En Cantos"]
- [lyrics sung in Spanish]
Diego is a big kid.
His bulging eyes are never still
as if they were made for a painter.
His fleshy lips always show
a mischievous and tender smile.
[Adelina Zendejas]
She got a kick out of hearing him talk.
She'd tease him and rile him up.
[Bertram Wolfe speaking English]
I saw Diego had a new girl.
She was quite a young lady.
Almost at once, he
painted her into a mural.
"You have a dog face," he told her.
"And you," she retorted,
"have the face of a frog."
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Toad Face
[Bertram speaking English]
became her favorite name for him,
varied with the epithet...
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Fatbelly
[Bertram speaking English]
and sometimes the tenderer...
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Little Diego
[Bertram speaking English] Then he began
asking for her opinion of his own work.
Her verdict was at times quite unfavorable.
He would grumble, but the next day,
he would alter the offending detail.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I used to dress like a boy.
But when I started seeing Diego
I put on traditional Tehuana dresses.
You will be called Auxochrome
the one who captures color.
I, Chromophore, the one that gives color.
[song ends]
DIEGO RIVERA IS MARRIED
Everyone said it was like
marrying an elephant to a dove.
[soft, romantic music playing]
I want to have a son
because this is a man's world.
I want him to look like Diego.
If I were to have a girl
I would like her to look a bit like me
but prettier.
I would go to see Diego every day
while he painted.
It pleased him to see me arrive
with food in a basket covered in flowers.
[Diego]
I was working as much as seven days a week
and 18 hours a day on
government commissions.
When an art dealer offered me a one-man show
at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
I got incredibly excited.
For an artist this is the pinnacle
of professional success.
[lively, upbeat music playing]
[ship horn blowing]
Here it is
the might
the power
the glory
the youthfulness of our lands.
[reporter speaking English] Noted
Mexican painter Diego Rivera has arrived.
[camera shutter snaps]
A petite, birdlike woman, Seora Rivera
smiled from behind her husband.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
New York is so massive
I can't believe it was built by people.
[traffic rumbling]
Our hotel is right in front of Central Park
only a block away from 5th Avenue.
Some neighborhoods in New York
are much more interesting than ours.
We went to Harlem.
It's a beautiful thing to see.
There are immigrant communities
from every part of the world.
The celebrations in Chinatown
feel like the ones in Mexico.
Full of fireworks and colors.
[quiet, indistinct chatter]
[Diego] We received a magnificent welcome
and we were feted at parties,
dinners, and receptions.
[Frida] Diego is the big shit here.
High society people lead
the most stupid lives.
They all spout nonsense
and brag about their millions.
You also need to own tons of dresses.
If you show up looking disheveled
they will eat you alive.
But Mexico is in style now
and all of my dresses
catch their attention.
Their jaws drop
because they're a bunch of idiots
who get excited over the dumbest things.
[pensive music playing]
Diego is painting two
blocks from our hotel.
I am also painting all the time.
I paint things that are
heavily influenced by Diego.
I've adapted to his style.
I try my best to make sure it's done well.
[Lucile Blanch speaking English]
She did small paintings with
bright Mexican colors.
But she did not ask me to look at her work.
She was a little shy about her painting.
She didn't set herself up as an artist.
She was there because
Diego Rivera was starring.
[wind howling]
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Winter here is incredibly sad.
Everything becomes white suddenly.
But people don't stop going out.
I don't leave this place.
I can't walk much with my crooked spine.
I'm always in pain.
I'm weak and tired.
[melancholy music playing]
I spend my days alone
since Diego doesn't stop
painting and painting
and must tend to his affairs.
Diego
I'm alone.
[lighthearted music playing]
[Diego] I was never a faithful husband.
I indulged my desires and had affairs.
I often found women too
desirable to resist.
I wanted the freedom to go after
anyone who caught my fancy.
Frida didn't object to my infidelity.
What offended her was when I chose women
unworthy of me or inferior to her.
[Lucile speaking English]
One time, there was a girl
who was trying to get his attention.
Frida started acting out
little, funny Mexican songs.
[laughter]
She got funnier and funnier.
She was a firework of wit and humor.
Diego then stopped paying attention
to the other girl, as she was a bore.
Frida knew the way
to break that thing up entirely.
[Frida speaking Spanish] It all made me
angry and if I'm being honest, jealous.
Why can't I get it through my head
that the affairs with all these women
the English teachers
the models
and the disciples captivated by your art
are just distractions.
Even though we fight and curse each other
it all makes me realize that
I love you more than my own skin.
And even if you don't love me the same
you must love me a little bit, right?
[camera shutter snaps]
[quiet, distant chatter]
Diego's exhibition has been a success.
Two to three thousand people go every day.
[typewriter keys clacking]
Diego's been offered a lot of new work.
So now, we're headed to Detroit.
- [typewriter bell dings]
- [spirited music playing]
[train chugging]
[train whistle blows]
All I want is to go to Mexico
but Diego has dreams of painting
the steel industry.
[train whistle blowing]
[Diego]
Detroit's Art Commission, led by Edsel Ford
invited me to paint murals
at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
It was the largest sum
I had ever been offered to paint walls.
[steam whistle blows]
[machinery clanking]
[Frida] He is in love with the factories
and the machines.
Like a child with a new toy.
[machinery clanking]
Unfortunately, Diego has to work
for these rich jerks.
He tells me that there will be
about three or four months of work here
and then we can return to Mexico.
[quiet chatter]
I'm two months pregnant.
I don't know what to do.
I don't think Diego wants to have a child.
Diego only cares about painting.
It's more important to him
than anything else in the world.
Secondly, I'm not strong.
The bus accident crushed my bones.
I doubt the baby would be healthy.
Since I still have time to make
the best decision for my health
I think I should have an abortion.
[haunting music playing]
The doctor told me I should keep the baby
instead of aborting it.
Despite my poor health, he thinks I could
have the baby with a cesarean section.
I don't know why the doctor thinks it
would be better for me to have the child.
Since abortion is illegal here
maybe he's afraid.
It's been almost two months.
Now that I think I can
withstand the pregnancy
I'm excited to have the child.
[upbeat march playing]
[Lucienne Bloch speaking English]
When I arrived there around July 4th,
Frida said, "I'm pregnant."
She was very happy.
[fireworks popping]
It was about 3:00 in the morning.
Diego comes walking in looking disheveled.
He said, "Come quick.
Frida has a hemorrhage."
[somber music playing]
I rushed into her bedroom,
and she was lying there.
It was just about the deepest
puddle of blood I ever saw.
She looked so tiny, 12 years old.
Her dress is wet with tears.
Out of the pools of blood she had made,
I heard the worst cries of despair.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I miscarried in the blink of an eye.
The fetus didn't form.
It was disintegrated.
Who knows what the hell
is wrong with my body?
I had been so excited to have a
little Diego that I cried so much.
They took me to Ford Hospital.
The doctor didn't tell me what caused it.
I don't know why I miscarried.
[Lucienne speaking English] She begged
the doctor to let her have a medical book.
She wanted to know exactly
how that fetus looked.
She even wanted to have the real fetus,
and the doctor wouldn't do that.
"I can't give you any books."
And then Diego spoke to the doctor
very seriously and said...
[Diego] You're not dealing
with an average person here.
She will do something with it.
She will do something in art.
[dramatic music playing]
[thunder crashes]
[rain falling]
[thunder crashes]
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I became obsessed with starting over.
Painting things as I saw them
through no one else's eyes
but my own.
My feelings
my moods
and my profound reactions to life.
[heart thumping rhythmically]
The only thing I know
is that I paint because I need to.
How I wish to leave this place.
I want to run and run
until I get to Mexico.
[Diego] Frida would rather be in Mexico
but I like the United States.
I'm happier here.
[reporter speaking English]
Rockefeller Center, a city within a city.
Twelve acres of mighty white buildings
reaching to the sky.
[Diego speaking Spanish] Nelson Rockefeller wanted
the best artists to beautify his new RCA building.
[upbeat music playing]
[Frida speaking Spanish] I am completely
disappointed with the famous United States.
Everything here is about appearances
but deep down it's a pile of shit.
I've seen thousands of people
in the most terrible conditions
without anything to eat
and nowhere to sleep.
[Diego] Rockefeller was fully acquainted
with my communist ideas.
[camera shutter snaps]
DIEGO RIVERA WITH HIS WIFE AND ASSISTANTS
I was painting a revolutionary mural
with workers marching and singing
and a figure of Lenin.
I was quite aware that I was
going against public opinion.
The private police at Radio City
gave me the order to stop work.
My mural was smashed to pieces.
[Frida] Stuck-up gringos.
Motherfuckers. Sons of bitches.
[Diego]
Because of the conflict with Rockefeller
all my commissions in the United States
were canceled.
[airplane whirring]
[birds chirping]
[Frida] Diego blames me for coming back
to godforsaken Mexico
but I know it's not my fault.
He has no desire to work
and gets angry a lot.
It's painful that he thinks I'm to blame.
[ship horn blowing]
[reporter speaking English] Mexico is
about the only land that will have him.
So here he is, Trotsky,
landing at Tampico with his wife.
Once Lenin's partner
and commander of the Red Army,
Trotsky finds a refuge.
[Diego speaking Spanish] I was instrumental
in bringing Trotsky to Mexico
after every country in the world
had closed its doors.
I was sick when Trotsky arrived
so I asked Frida to welcome him
and his wife at the dock.
[intriguing music playing]
[Jean van Heijenoort speaking English]
In her relations with Trotsky,
Frida quickly adopted
a certain freedom of manner.
She was very attentive.
Trotsky, who was taken by Frida,
began writing letters to her.
He'd slip a letter into a book
and give the book to her,
often in the presence of others.
Diego had no inkling of what was going on.
[Frida speaking Spanish] I dedicate this
painting to Leon Trotsky with all my affection.
[Ella Wolfe speaking English] After
six months, she got bored with the man.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I'm so tired of this old man.
[Ella speaking English] There was
a nine-page letter from Trotsky to Frida
begging her not to break relations
and that life without her
would be very sad and sort of empty.
It was a plea.
The kind of plea
that a young love of the age of 17
would make to somebody he loved.
[Jean sighs] Frida.
[speaking English] She was
one of the great women of my life.
There is no question that she had
very strong sexual needs.
[laughter]
Once, she told me that
her view of life was...
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Make love, take a bath
and make love again.
[birds chirping]
[gentle, sensual music playing]
For me to fall in love
the person has to be sensitive
and above all, I must be
sexually attracted to them.
An affair lasts as long
as it gives pleasure.
It's good to have sex
even if one is not in love.
During sex, my breasts play an active role.
I get excited when they are touched.
Nachito, I would like to spend
more time with you all on our own.
[speaking English] I like you
very much, Georgia.
[speaking Spanish]
Jacqueline, I have not forgotten you.
The nights are long and punishing.
Bartol, last night I felt as if wings
caressed my entire body.
As if your fingertips were lips
that kissed my skin.
[speaking English] Oh, my darling Nick.
I adore you.
Believe me, like I never loved anyone.
This painting was done for you.
Remember that I exist in this planet.
[speaking Spanish]
Love is the foundation of all life.
[kisses]
[laughter]
[Lucienne speaking English] Diego approved
of Frida having relationships with women.
One day, he said to me, laughing...
[Diego] You know Frida is
a homosexual, don't you?
Women are more sensitive.
Therefore, two women together will have
the most extraordinary sexual experience.
[Isamu Noguchi] Since Diego was
well-known to be a lady chaser,
she could not be blamed
if she saw some men.
It wasn't quite acceptable
to Diego, however.
[somber, atmospheric music playing]
I was in love with her.
And I used to have assignations with her
here and there.
Diego came by with a gun.
He always carried a gun.
He showed me his gun, and he said,
"Next time I see you,
I'm going to shoot you."
Diego was insanely jealous.
[Diego speaking Spanish] The more I loved
a woman the more I wanted to hurt her.
Frida was the main victim
of this disgusting trait.
I got involved with Frida's best friend
her sister, Cristina.
[Frida] We were four sisters
but Cristina was the sister
that I loved the most
and who I tried to help whenever I could.
Cristina is really pretty.
As a child, I was very jealous of her.
We would fight furiously.
But she was my everything.
I know that right now Diego is more
interested in my sister than me.
It's all a load of crap.
I can't forgive him.
And that is all.
[tense, dramatic music playing]
Love
Hate
Madness
I spend my days crying with rage.
I'm just like any other girl
heartbroken by a man leaving her.
I'm worthless.
I can't do anything right.
My situation is so idiotic
that I hate myself for it.
[Diego] Once Frida found out, she left me.
It was too late.
But if given another chance
I can't say I'd do anything differently.
Every man is a product of his times
and I am what I am.
[Frida] I wanted to go to New York
but I had no money.
Now I live somewhere else.
Diego drops by once in a while
but we have nothing to say.
There is no connection between us anymore.
He doesn't tell me about his life.
He's not interested in what I do or think.
[Diego]
I loved her too much to make her suffer.
So to prevent future heartaches
I pleaded with her to give me a divorce.
[melancholy music playing]
[Frida] Today I signed the divorce papers
and I feel lousy because I truly love him.
- [heart thumping rhythmically]
- [waves sloshing gently]
But I think this will finally give him
what he wants.
I will no longer be a burden
keeping him from the freedom he demands.
After a few months I forgave my sister
and I'm trying my best
to forget what happened and live.
[optimistic music playing]
I'm learning to be alone
and that is a small triumph.
I've wasted my best years
being dependent on a man
without doing anything for myself.
I need to paint so I can make a living.
Then I will be free.
I no longer accept
a damn cent from Diego.
I will never accept money
from any man until I die.
I paint myself
because I'm what I know best.
My self-portraits are the true expression
of my emotions.
I was told not to paint so many sad things
but I will paint whatever I want
even if the paintings don't sell.
[barks]
For the first time in my life
I sold one of my pieces.
I now have a commission to paint
a self-portrait with monkeys.
It seems that everyone wants monkeys.
I don't know why.
[soft chittering]
[intriguing music playing]
The Surrealist poet Andr Breton
came to Mexico.
[Andr Breton speaking English] On my
arrival in Mexico, my eyes remained closed
to the perfect nobility
and terrible poverty
of the Indian people
in the sun-drenched marketplaces.
I had not yet set eyes on Frida Kahlo.
Like a fairy-tale princess,
with magic spells at her fingertips.
My surprise was unbounded when I discovered
that her work had blossomed forth
into pure surreality
despite the fact that it had been conceived
without any prior knowledge whatsoever
of the ideas motivating the activities
of my friends and myself.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I never knew I was a Surrealist
until Andr Breton came to Mexico
and told me I was one.
I must confess I didn't even know
that this art movement existed.
[Andr speaking English] Surrealism is
the omnipotence of dreams.
We are privileged to be present
at the entry of a young woman
endowed with all the gifts of seduction,
one accustomed to the society
of men of genius.
The art of Frida Kahlo
is a ribbon around a bomb.
[soft rumbling]
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I adore surprises and the unexpected.
But I never painted my dreams.
I painted my own reality.
Breton was so impressed with my work he
urged me to exhibit in Paris and New York.
[peppy music playing]
A Surrealist gallery in New York
invited me to do a solo exhibition.
I've never had an exhibition before.
[reporter speaking English] The flutter
of the week in Manhattan was caused
by the first exhibition of paintings
by Frida Kahlo.
Little Frida's pictures had the playful
bloody fancy of an unsentimental child.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Everything went wonderfully.
I displayed 25 pieces and sold 12.
From there I went to Paris for an
exhibition organized by Andr Breton.
[bicycle bell dings]
Ever since I arrived,
it's been a shit show.
My exhibition wasn't even set up.
My paintings were waiting patiently for me
in customs.
The son-of-a-bitch Breton
hadn't even gone to pick them up.
Now Breton wants to exhibit my paintings
along with common objects
he bought in Mexican markets.
Ordinary crap.
It's all junk.
The exhibition will finally open
at the Pierre Colle gallery.
They say it's one of the best ones here.
[quiet, distant chatter]
There was quite a crowd at the opening.
Huge congratulations from Joan Mir.
Great praise from Kandinsky.
And congratulations from Picasso
and other big cacas of Surrealism.
But these rich bitches
don't want to buy anything.
I don't have the honor of being
in the elite circle of famous artists.
Men are kings.
They rule the world.
[contemplative music playing]
These people make me want to vomit.
They sit in the cafs for hours
warming their precious asses.
They talk endlessly about "culture"
"art" and "revolution."
They poison the air
with theories that never come true.
I hate Surrealism.
It's a decadent manifestation
of bourgeois art.
I am so sick of the whole affair.
To hell with everything.
Fuck everything concerning Breton
and this lousy place.
Let them eat shit.
I am going home.
I feel like hell.
Exhausted by the constant pain in my back
that gets worse every day.
[somber music playing]
I am fucked because of the accident.
My foot always hurts.
The nerves are damaged
and my foot will never be the same.
It's hopeless.
[soft rumbling]
All the doctors want me
to have an operation.
I'm scared.
[water burbling]
In the end, they proceeded to break bones.
They tore off a piece of my pelvis
and fused it to my spine.
- [wheels creaking softly]
- [wind blowing]
The bone will take a long time
to grow and readjust.
I'll have to stay in this hospital
for quite a while.
It is hard to imagine my future.
I can't think about it until I get well.
Tree of hope, stay strong.
[lively chatter]
[Diego]
Frida, I haven't known how to say this.
I've never been able to admit
how much I love you
but now I'm sure of it.
Little girl, I'm terribly worried
about your illness.
[Frida] He tells me I am the woman
he loves above everyone else
and he wants me to marry him again.
[Diego] I loved her and I
begged her to marry me again
but without success.
When she finally accepted
she did so with conditions.
That she would support herself
with the earnings of her own work.
That I would only pay for half
of our home expenses.
And that we wouldn't
have sex with each other.
When explaining this
last condition, she said
[Frida] When I imagine you with all your
other women I can't make love to you.
As soon as you start seducing me
I face a psychological barrier.
[Diego] I felt so happy to have her back
that I accepted all of her conditions.
Frida and I got married for a second time.
[uplifting music playing]
[birds chirping]
[Frida] Our second marriage is going well.
There is more mutual understanding.
No more jealousy or violent arguments.
Each spouse does their part
to maintain the home.
We'll be together forever.
Nothing but love between us.
[wistful music playing]
[fire whooshing, crackling]
My little boy
I will build you a home
with all of my love.
I'm now teaching at an art school.
And in the afternoons I dedicate myself
to the beauty of painting.
As soon as I finish one I have to sell it to
earn enough money for the monthly expenses.
If it weren't for my health
you could even say that I'm happy.
[birds chirping]
Up until 1950, I was doing well enough.
But now my health is at its worst.
[optimistic music playing]
[Alejandro]
Frida became a professional patient.
She had many surgical interventions
a parade of doctors and orthopedic braces.
They would hang her to
straighten her spine.
[Frida] This is my reality.
There is no remedy.
Despite it all
nothing is better than laughter.
Laughing hard gives you strength.
[Dr. Guillermo Velasco y Polo] At the
hospital, Frida made light of her pain
and swore all the time.
[Frida] Fucking life.
[Diego] If she saw me with
a pretty woman, she'd say
[Frida] Pass her to me. I'll take a puff.
I'm always in a cast
but I'm not discouraged.
I have an enormous will to live.
Long live life!
- [soft, melancholy music playing]
- [birds chirping]
I'm sure they will amputate my right leg.
I don't know the details
but my doctors are concerned.
- [pencil scratching paper]
- [wind blowing softly]
I'm an invalid.
Now I am trapped
in this fucking house of oblivion.
Yellow
sickness
fear
All the ghosts wear this color.
Red
blood
Black
Nothing is black
truly nothing.
[breathes deeply]
I want to die.
[Judith Ferreto]
After the operation to amputate her leg
everything was silent.
Not even Diego's presence helped
and she didn't want to paint at all.
The doctor said
not to force her to do anything
because she didn't want to live anymore.
But one morning, she
looked up at me and said
[Frida] I think I'm going to paint.
[Judith] I had to bind her to her
wheelchair so she could sit up straight.
[match strikes]
[inhales]
[exhales heavily]
[Frida] In my life I've painted little
without the slightest desire
for glory or ambition
with the sole conviction
to give myself pleasure
and the power to make
a living with my trade.
I've lost so many things
I wanted for my life.
But painting completed my life.
[Lola lvarez Bravo] I told Diego it was an outrage that
we had never held an exhibition for Frida in Mexico
and what would he say about
holding one in my gallery.
EXHIBITION OF FRIDA KAHLO'S
BODY OF WORK
-[cheering and applause]
- [gentle music playing]
[Diego] She arrived in an ambulance
like a heroine.
Frida sat in the middle of the room.
She was pleased to see so many people
honoring her warmly.
She said almost nothing.
She must have realized
she was bidding life goodbye.
[Frida] I am not afraid of death.
Even so, I must face the bitter fact
that having many lives
would still not be enough
for me to paint everything I want.
What is joy?
The creation born of discovery.
[spirited music playing]
The lonely deer wandered
very sad and very hurt
until it found warmth and a home.
When the deer returns
strong, happy and healed
the wounds he now bears
will all have been erased.
Thank you for giving me solace.
In the deer's forest, the sky is now clear.
[Marissa Mur and Luis Jimenez: "Amores"]
[song continues with
lyrics sung in Spanish]
[song ends]
[quiet rustling, creaking]
[soft sigh]
[match strikes]
[sizzling]
[exhaling]
[object dragging, creaking]
[exhaling]
[paintbrush scraping on canvas]
[Frida Kahlo speaking Spanish] In my life, I've
only painted the honest expression of myself.
To say what I couldn't in any other way.
[brushstrokes on canvas]
I paint because I need to.
[intriguing music playing]
[lively, rhythmic music playing]
[heart thumping rhythmically]
[contemplative music playing]
Who would've thought
that stains of color can come to life
and help one live?
Mexico was my entire universe.
I was happy.
[birds chirping]
[child giggling]
I ran through every corner of my yard
and I'd shout and laugh from under a tree.
[bell tolling]
[quiet crowd chatter]
My mom was obsessively religious.
She invited priests to
hold Mass at my house
and her friends would
come to pray the rosary.
While everyone was praying
I tried not to laugh.
[lighthearted music playing]
I remember asking about the
Mysteries of the Bible.
They'd always say,
"To dedicate oneself more to God."
[crying]
But I kept bothering the priest
with questions.
How was Christ born?
Was the Virgin Mary really a virgin?
They threw me out
for spoiling it for the other kids.
[camera shutter snaps]
My father was a photographer.
I was fascinated with his studio.
Papa was an atheist
and the only one in the house who read
books about science,
geography, and history.
[wistful music playing]
I went everywhere with my father.
He would paint small
landscapes by the river
with watercolors and oil paints.
Papa kept his box of paints
tucked away in his studio.
And I really wanted that box.
[upbeat music playing]
Green
good warm light
Magenta
Aztec
Mexican red
old blood of the prickly pear
Brown
color of mol
earth
Yellow
sun and happiness
I was a girl who walked
through a world full of colors
of tangible forms.
Everything was mysterious
and held secrets.
Deciphering the world was like a game.
[fireworks whistling, popping]
I wanted to be a doctor
so I attended the National
Preparatory School.
[quiet, distant chatter]
I didn't like it at first because
I had to go upstairs with the other girls.
All the girls would say
"Frida is a little strange."
[spirited music playing]
I ended up befriending a group called
the Cachuchas.
We wore caps
and I was the only girl.
[Alejandro Gmez Arias] When Frida arrived
at the school she was rebellious
and defied tradition.
She was drawn to rebellious young men
and she joined our group.
[Frida] I followed the Cachuchas everywhere
and took part in all of their mischief.
[fireworks whistling]
[sizzling]
[popping rapidly]
[Baltasar Dromundo]
We strapped firecrackers on a dog
and we sent it into the school.
We wreaked havoc
and got all the classes suspended.
Frida was standing in a hallway
dying of laughter.
[Frida] I would go to the boys' classes
instead of going to mine.
I barely passed my classes
or I would cheat to get good grades.
[quiet, distant chatter]
Alejandro was a leader at school.
He took part in all of
the student protests.
I'm attracted to intelligent people.
I choose those I feel are superior to me.
My Alex
My beloved Alex
My Alex
[sighs]
I wanted Alejandro to fuck me
but he preferred to tell me nice things.
He'd recite poetry
and give me kisses and hugs.
I think that everything
that gives pleasure is good.
[wistful music playing]
breath
scent
armpit
love
abyss
- [traffic passing]
- [lively chatter]
[trolley bell dinging]
[whistle blowing]
That day I took a bus with Alejandro.
I sat next to the handrail
and Alejandro sat next to me.
Shortly after getting on the bus
the crash started.
[tense music playing]
[Alejandro]
A trolley approached our bus slowly
hitting us straight in the middle.
The bus had a strange elasticity.
It bent more and more.
When it reached its breaking point
it burst into a thousand pieces.
[crashing, crackling]
[Frida] It wasn't violent
but silent.
Slow.
The handrail went through me
like a sword through a bull.
[atmospheric music playing]
It's a lie that one realizes the crash.
A lie that one cries.
I had no tears.
I didn't understand
the kind of wounds I had suffered.
I thought I came out unscathed.
[Alejandro] I ended up under the trolley.
As soon as I was able to get up
I looked for Frida.
Horrified, I realized that
a piece of iron had pierced her body.
A man said, "We need to take it out."
He put his knee on Frida's body
and pulled it out.
[siren blaring]
Frida screamed so loud
you couldn't hear the ambulance's siren.
CRASH WRECKS BUS
The doctors didn't think
they could save her.
[gentle music playing]
[Frida] It will take a long time
for the fracture in my pelvis to mend
and for the wounds in my foot to heal.
The doctor thinks
I will have to stay like this
for three or four months.
[mournful music playing]
I now inhabit a world of pain
transparent
like ice.
It no longer holds mystery.
[soft rumbling]
The crash destroyed me
but at least Lady Death didn't take me.
Everyone tells me not to despair
but no one knows what it's like for me
having been free in the
streets all my life.
[sighs]
I feel trapped by the walls in my room.
I'm alone with my soul.
My mother devised a wooden contraption
where I could attach my papers.
She also hung a mirror over my bed
so I could use myself as a model.
I started painting portraits of my friends.
[wistful music playing]
Dear Agustn
I painted your portrait with love.
Beautiful Alicia
I'm sending you all my love.
Your pal, Friducha.
Miguel, little brother
don't ever forget about Cachucha number 9
Frida Kahlo.
Alex
this is so you don't forget me.
Don't stop writing to me.
Here is my portrait, Alex.
It'll be at your house in a few days.
I beg you, hang it low
so you can see it
as if you were looking straight at me.
[leaves rustling gently in wind]
After a year in many casts
I still felt very sore
and had little strength.
But I want to be productive
with the health I have left.
- [rousing music playing]
- [lively chatter, chanting]
When the Revolution started
I was aware of what was happening.
I was four when I witnessed Zapata's
peasant fight against the establishment.
[Emiliano Zapata] The peasants took up arms
to seize the bread that the rich denied them.
Land and freedom.
[Frida] In Mexico, coraje means
becoming violent when you face injustice.
I feel the pain of the oppressed.
I feel the need to fight for them.
That's why as soon as they allowed me
to walk after the accident
I joined the Communist party.
[crowd chanting, clamoring]
MEXICAN ART REFLECTS NEW VALUES
ART AND REVOLUTION
The spirit of the Revolution
was the foundation for my determination.
[pensive music playing]
Diego Rivera was painting frescoes
at the Ministry of Education.
Diego is a communist.
His creative work is at the service of
the social revolution.
He has great taste.
He admires everything that emanates beauty
whether it comes from
a woman or a mountain.
[laughter]
I had only seen him from far away
but I admired him greatly.
One day I brought him four paintings
and just like that I said
"Diego! Get down!"
[Diego Rivera] I looked down from my
scaffold and saw a girl of about eighteen.
She had a pretty body and a delicate face.
[Frida]
Look, I haven't come to flirt with you.
Even though you're a womanizer
I've come to show you my paintings.
If you're interested, let me know.
If not, that's fine.
So I can find another
way to help my parents.
[Diego] I was impressed.
Her canvases revealed
an unusual expressive energy.
"In my opinion, you must continue
to paint," I said at once.
[Frida] He told me, "You have talent."
That's when my courtship with Diego began.
- [iLe & Natalia Lafourcade: "En Cantos"]
- [lyrics sung in Spanish]
Diego is a big kid.
His bulging eyes are never still
as if they were made for a painter.
His fleshy lips always show
a mischievous and tender smile.
[Adelina Zendejas]
She got a kick out of hearing him talk.
She'd tease him and rile him up.
[Bertram Wolfe speaking English]
I saw Diego had a new girl.
She was quite a young lady.
Almost at once, he
painted her into a mural.
"You have a dog face," he told her.
"And you," she retorted,
"have the face of a frog."
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Toad Face
[Bertram speaking English]
became her favorite name for him,
varied with the epithet...
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Fatbelly
[Bertram speaking English]
and sometimes the tenderer...
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Little Diego
[Bertram speaking English] Then he began
asking for her opinion of his own work.
Her verdict was at times quite unfavorable.
He would grumble, but the next day,
he would alter the offending detail.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I used to dress like a boy.
But when I started seeing Diego
I put on traditional Tehuana dresses.
You will be called Auxochrome
the one who captures color.
I, Chromophore, the one that gives color.
[song ends]
DIEGO RIVERA IS MARRIED
Everyone said it was like
marrying an elephant to a dove.
[soft, romantic music playing]
I want to have a son
because this is a man's world.
I want him to look like Diego.
If I were to have a girl
I would like her to look a bit like me
but prettier.
I would go to see Diego every day
while he painted.
It pleased him to see me arrive
with food in a basket covered in flowers.
[Diego]
I was working as much as seven days a week
and 18 hours a day on
government commissions.
When an art dealer offered me a one-man show
at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
I got incredibly excited.
For an artist this is the pinnacle
of professional success.
[lively, upbeat music playing]
[ship horn blowing]
Here it is
the might
the power
the glory
the youthfulness of our lands.
[reporter speaking English] Noted
Mexican painter Diego Rivera has arrived.
[camera shutter snaps]
A petite, birdlike woman, Seora Rivera
smiled from behind her husband.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
New York is so massive
I can't believe it was built by people.
[traffic rumbling]
Our hotel is right in front of Central Park
only a block away from 5th Avenue.
Some neighborhoods in New York
are much more interesting than ours.
We went to Harlem.
It's a beautiful thing to see.
There are immigrant communities
from every part of the world.
The celebrations in Chinatown
feel like the ones in Mexico.
Full of fireworks and colors.
[quiet, indistinct chatter]
[Diego] We received a magnificent welcome
and we were feted at parties,
dinners, and receptions.
[Frida] Diego is the big shit here.
High society people lead
the most stupid lives.
They all spout nonsense
and brag about their millions.
You also need to own tons of dresses.
If you show up looking disheveled
they will eat you alive.
But Mexico is in style now
and all of my dresses
catch their attention.
Their jaws drop
because they're a bunch of idiots
who get excited over the dumbest things.
[pensive music playing]
Diego is painting two
blocks from our hotel.
I am also painting all the time.
I paint things that are
heavily influenced by Diego.
I've adapted to his style.
I try my best to make sure it's done well.
[Lucile Blanch speaking English]
She did small paintings with
bright Mexican colors.
But she did not ask me to look at her work.
She was a little shy about her painting.
She didn't set herself up as an artist.
She was there because
Diego Rivera was starring.
[wind howling]
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Winter here is incredibly sad.
Everything becomes white suddenly.
But people don't stop going out.
I don't leave this place.
I can't walk much with my crooked spine.
I'm always in pain.
I'm weak and tired.
[melancholy music playing]
I spend my days alone
since Diego doesn't stop
painting and painting
and must tend to his affairs.
Diego
I'm alone.
[lighthearted music playing]
[Diego] I was never a faithful husband.
I indulged my desires and had affairs.
I often found women too
desirable to resist.
I wanted the freedom to go after
anyone who caught my fancy.
Frida didn't object to my infidelity.
What offended her was when I chose women
unworthy of me or inferior to her.
[Lucile speaking English]
One time, there was a girl
who was trying to get his attention.
Frida started acting out
little, funny Mexican songs.
[laughter]
She got funnier and funnier.
She was a firework of wit and humor.
Diego then stopped paying attention
to the other girl, as she was a bore.
Frida knew the way
to break that thing up entirely.
[Frida speaking Spanish] It all made me
angry and if I'm being honest, jealous.
Why can't I get it through my head
that the affairs with all these women
the English teachers
the models
and the disciples captivated by your art
are just distractions.
Even though we fight and curse each other
it all makes me realize that
I love you more than my own skin.
And even if you don't love me the same
you must love me a little bit, right?
[camera shutter snaps]
[quiet, distant chatter]
Diego's exhibition has been a success.
Two to three thousand people go every day.
[typewriter keys clacking]
Diego's been offered a lot of new work.
So now, we're headed to Detroit.
- [typewriter bell dings]
- [spirited music playing]
[train chugging]
[train whistle blows]
All I want is to go to Mexico
but Diego has dreams of painting
the steel industry.
[train whistle blowing]
[Diego]
Detroit's Art Commission, led by Edsel Ford
invited me to paint murals
at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
It was the largest sum
I had ever been offered to paint walls.
[steam whistle blows]
[machinery clanking]
[Frida] He is in love with the factories
and the machines.
Like a child with a new toy.
[machinery clanking]
Unfortunately, Diego has to work
for these rich jerks.
He tells me that there will be
about three or four months of work here
and then we can return to Mexico.
[quiet chatter]
I'm two months pregnant.
I don't know what to do.
I don't think Diego wants to have a child.
Diego only cares about painting.
It's more important to him
than anything else in the world.
Secondly, I'm not strong.
The bus accident crushed my bones.
I doubt the baby would be healthy.
Since I still have time to make
the best decision for my health
I think I should have an abortion.
[haunting music playing]
The doctor told me I should keep the baby
instead of aborting it.
Despite my poor health, he thinks I could
have the baby with a cesarean section.
I don't know why the doctor thinks it
would be better for me to have the child.
Since abortion is illegal here
maybe he's afraid.
It's been almost two months.
Now that I think I can
withstand the pregnancy
I'm excited to have the child.
[upbeat march playing]
[Lucienne Bloch speaking English]
When I arrived there around July 4th,
Frida said, "I'm pregnant."
She was very happy.
[fireworks popping]
It was about 3:00 in the morning.
Diego comes walking in looking disheveled.
He said, "Come quick.
Frida has a hemorrhage."
[somber music playing]
I rushed into her bedroom,
and she was lying there.
It was just about the deepest
puddle of blood I ever saw.
She looked so tiny, 12 years old.
Her dress is wet with tears.
Out of the pools of blood she had made,
I heard the worst cries of despair.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I miscarried in the blink of an eye.
The fetus didn't form.
It was disintegrated.
Who knows what the hell
is wrong with my body?
I had been so excited to have a
little Diego that I cried so much.
They took me to Ford Hospital.
The doctor didn't tell me what caused it.
I don't know why I miscarried.
[Lucienne speaking English] She begged
the doctor to let her have a medical book.
She wanted to know exactly
how that fetus looked.
She even wanted to have the real fetus,
and the doctor wouldn't do that.
"I can't give you any books."
And then Diego spoke to the doctor
very seriously and said...
[Diego] You're not dealing
with an average person here.
She will do something with it.
She will do something in art.
[dramatic music playing]
[thunder crashes]
[rain falling]
[thunder crashes]
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I became obsessed with starting over.
Painting things as I saw them
through no one else's eyes
but my own.
My feelings
my moods
and my profound reactions to life.
[heart thumping rhythmically]
The only thing I know
is that I paint because I need to.
How I wish to leave this place.
I want to run and run
until I get to Mexico.
[Diego] Frida would rather be in Mexico
but I like the United States.
I'm happier here.
[reporter speaking English]
Rockefeller Center, a city within a city.
Twelve acres of mighty white buildings
reaching to the sky.
[Diego speaking Spanish] Nelson Rockefeller wanted
the best artists to beautify his new RCA building.
[upbeat music playing]
[Frida speaking Spanish] I am completely
disappointed with the famous United States.
Everything here is about appearances
but deep down it's a pile of shit.
I've seen thousands of people
in the most terrible conditions
without anything to eat
and nowhere to sleep.
[Diego] Rockefeller was fully acquainted
with my communist ideas.
[camera shutter snaps]
DIEGO RIVERA WITH HIS WIFE AND ASSISTANTS
I was painting a revolutionary mural
with workers marching and singing
and a figure of Lenin.
I was quite aware that I was
going against public opinion.
The private police at Radio City
gave me the order to stop work.
My mural was smashed to pieces.
[Frida] Stuck-up gringos.
Motherfuckers. Sons of bitches.
[Diego]
Because of the conflict with Rockefeller
all my commissions in the United States
were canceled.
[airplane whirring]
[birds chirping]
[Frida] Diego blames me for coming back
to godforsaken Mexico
but I know it's not my fault.
He has no desire to work
and gets angry a lot.
It's painful that he thinks I'm to blame.
[ship horn blowing]
[reporter speaking English] Mexico is
about the only land that will have him.
So here he is, Trotsky,
landing at Tampico with his wife.
Once Lenin's partner
and commander of the Red Army,
Trotsky finds a refuge.
[Diego speaking Spanish] I was instrumental
in bringing Trotsky to Mexico
after every country in the world
had closed its doors.
I was sick when Trotsky arrived
so I asked Frida to welcome him
and his wife at the dock.
[intriguing music playing]
[Jean van Heijenoort speaking English]
In her relations with Trotsky,
Frida quickly adopted
a certain freedom of manner.
She was very attentive.
Trotsky, who was taken by Frida,
began writing letters to her.
He'd slip a letter into a book
and give the book to her,
often in the presence of others.
Diego had no inkling of what was going on.
[Frida speaking Spanish] I dedicate this
painting to Leon Trotsky with all my affection.
[Ella Wolfe speaking English] After
six months, she got bored with the man.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I'm so tired of this old man.
[Ella speaking English] There was
a nine-page letter from Trotsky to Frida
begging her not to break relations
and that life without her
would be very sad and sort of empty.
It was a plea.
The kind of plea
that a young love of the age of 17
would make to somebody he loved.
[Jean sighs] Frida.
[speaking English] She was
one of the great women of my life.
There is no question that she had
very strong sexual needs.
[laughter]
Once, she told me that
her view of life was...
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Make love, take a bath
and make love again.
[birds chirping]
[gentle, sensual music playing]
For me to fall in love
the person has to be sensitive
and above all, I must be
sexually attracted to them.
An affair lasts as long
as it gives pleasure.
It's good to have sex
even if one is not in love.
During sex, my breasts play an active role.
I get excited when they are touched.
Nachito, I would like to spend
more time with you all on our own.
[speaking English] I like you
very much, Georgia.
[speaking Spanish]
Jacqueline, I have not forgotten you.
The nights are long and punishing.
Bartol, last night I felt as if wings
caressed my entire body.
As if your fingertips were lips
that kissed my skin.
[speaking English] Oh, my darling Nick.
I adore you.
Believe me, like I never loved anyone.
This painting was done for you.
Remember that I exist in this planet.
[speaking Spanish]
Love is the foundation of all life.
[kisses]
[laughter]
[Lucienne speaking English] Diego approved
of Frida having relationships with women.
One day, he said to me, laughing...
[Diego] You know Frida is
a homosexual, don't you?
Women are more sensitive.
Therefore, two women together will have
the most extraordinary sexual experience.
[Isamu Noguchi] Since Diego was
well-known to be a lady chaser,
she could not be blamed
if she saw some men.
It wasn't quite acceptable
to Diego, however.
[somber, atmospheric music playing]
I was in love with her.
And I used to have assignations with her
here and there.
Diego came by with a gun.
He always carried a gun.
He showed me his gun, and he said,
"Next time I see you,
I'm going to shoot you."
Diego was insanely jealous.
[Diego speaking Spanish] The more I loved
a woman the more I wanted to hurt her.
Frida was the main victim
of this disgusting trait.
I got involved with Frida's best friend
her sister, Cristina.
[Frida] We were four sisters
but Cristina was the sister
that I loved the most
and who I tried to help whenever I could.
Cristina is really pretty.
As a child, I was very jealous of her.
We would fight furiously.
But she was my everything.
I know that right now Diego is more
interested in my sister than me.
It's all a load of crap.
I can't forgive him.
And that is all.
[tense, dramatic music playing]
Love
Hate
Madness
I spend my days crying with rage.
I'm just like any other girl
heartbroken by a man leaving her.
I'm worthless.
I can't do anything right.
My situation is so idiotic
that I hate myself for it.
[Diego] Once Frida found out, she left me.
It was too late.
But if given another chance
I can't say I'd do anything differently.
Every man is a product of his times
and I am what I am.
[Frida] I wanted to go to New York
but I had no money.
Now I live somewhere else.
Diego drops by once in a while
but we have nothing to say.
There is no connection between us anymore.
He doesn't tell me about his life.
He's not interested in what I do or think.
[Diego]
I loved her too much to make her suffer.
So to prevent future heartaches
I pleaded with her to give me a divorce.
[melancholy music playing]
[Frida] Today I signed the divorce papers
and I feel lousy because I truly love him.
- [heart thumping rhythmically]
- [waves sloshing gently]
But I think this will finally give him
what he wants.
I will no longer be a burden
keeping him from the freedom he demands.
After a few months I forgave my sister
and I'm trying my best
to forget what happened and live.
[optimistic music playing]
I'm learning to be alone
and that is a small triumph.
I've wasted my best years
being dependent on a man
without doing anything for myself.
I need to paint so I can make a living.
Then I will be free.
I no longer accept
a damn cent from Diego.
I will never accept money
from any man until I die.
I paint myself
because I'm what I know best.
My self-portraits are the true expression
of my emotions.
I was told not to paint so many sad things
but I will paint whatever I want
even if the paintings don't sell.
[barks]
For the first time in my life
I sold one of my pieces.
I now have a commission to paint
a self-portrait with monkeys.
It seems that everyone wants monkeys.
I don't know why.
[soft chittering]
[intriguing music playing]
The Surrealist poet Andr Breton
came to Mexico.
[Andr Breton speaking English] On my
arrival in Mexico, my eyes remained closed
to the perfect nobility
and terrible poverty
of the Indian people
in the sun-drenched marketplaces.
I had not yet set eyes on Frida Kahlo.
Like a fairy-tale princess,
with magic spells at her fingertips.
My surprise was unbounded when I discovered
that her work had blossomed forth
into pure surreality
despite the fact that it had been conceived
without any prior knowledge whatsoever
of the ideas motivating the activities
of my friends and myself.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I never knew I was a Surrealist
until Andr Breton came to Mexico
and told me I was one.
I must confess I didn't even know
that this art movement existed.
[Andr speaking English] Surrealism is
the omnipotence of dreams.
We are privileged to be present
at the entry of a young woman
endowed with all the gifts of seduction,
one accustomed to the society
of men of genius.
The art of Frida Kahlo
is a ribbon around a bomb.
[soft rumbling]
[Frida speaking Spanish]
I adore surprises and the unexpected.
But I never painted my dreams.
I painted my own reality.
Breton was so impressed with my work he
urged me to exhibit in Paris and New York.
[peppy music playing]
A Surrealist gallery in New York
invited me to do a solo exhibition.
I've never had an exhibition before.
[reporter speaking English] The flutter
of the week in Manhattan was caused
by the first exhibition of paintings
by Frida Kahlo.
Little Frida's pictures had the playful
bloody fancy of an unsentimental child.
[Frida speaking Spanish]
Everything went wonderfully.
I displayed 25 pieces and sold 12.
From there I went to Paris for an
exhibition organized by Andr Breton.
[bicycle bell dings]
Ever since I arrived,
it's been a shit show.
My exhibition wasn't even set up.
My paintings were waiting patiently for me
in customs.
The son-of-a-bitch Breton
hadn't even gone to pick them up.
Now Breton wants to exhibit my paintings
along with common objects
he bought in Mexican markets.
Ordinary crap.
It's all junk.
The exhibition will finally open
at the Pierre Colle gallery.
They say it's one of the best ones here.
[quiet, distant chatter]
There was quite a crowd at the opening.
Huge congratulations from Joan Mir.
Great praise from Kandinsky.
And congratulations from Picasso
and other big cacas of Surrealism.
But these rich bitches
don't want to buy anything.
I don't have the honor of being
in the elite circle of famous artists.
Men are kings.
They rule the world.
[contemplative music playing]
These people make me want to vomit.
They sit in the cafs for hours
warming their precious asses.
They talk endlessly about "culture"
"art" and "revolution."
They poison the air
with theories that never come true.
I hate Surrealism.
It's a decadent manifestation
of bourgeois art.
I am so sick of the whole affair.
To hell with everything.
Fuck everything concerning Breton
and this lousy place.
Let them eat shit.
I am going home.
I feel like hell.
Exhausted by the constant pain in my back
that gets worse every day.
[somber music playing]
I am fucked because of the accident.
My foot always hurts.
The nerves are damaged
and my foot will never be the same.
It's hopeless.
[soft rumbling]
All the doctors want me
to have an operation.
I'm scared.
[water burbling]
In the end, they proceeded to break bones.
They tore off a piece of my pelvis
and fused it to my spine.
- [wheels creaking softly]
- [wind blowing]
The bone will take a long time
to grow and readjust.
I'll have to stay in this hospital
for quite a while.
It is hard to imagine my future.
I can't think about it until I get well.
Tree of hope, stay strong.
[lively chatter]
[Diego]
Frida, I haven't known how to say this.
I've never been able to admit
how much I love you
but now I'm sure of it.
Little girl, I'm terribly worried
about your illness.
[Frida] He tells me I am the woman
he loves above everyone else
and he wants me to marry him again.
[Diego] I loved her and I
begged her to marry me again
but without success.
When she finally accepted
she did so with conditions.
That she would support herself
with the earnings of her own work.
That I would only pay for half
of our home expenses.
And that we wouldn't
have sex with each other.
When explaining this
last condition, she said
[Frida] When I imagine you with all your
other women I can't make love to you.
As soon as you start seducing me
I face a psychological barrier.
[Diego] I felt so happy to have her back
that I accepted all of her conditions.
Frida and I got married for a second time.
[uplifting music playing]
[birds chirping]
[Frida] Our second marriage is going well.
There is more mutual understanding.
No more jealousy or violent arguments.
Each spouse does their part
to maintain the home.
We'll be together forever.
Nothing but love between us.
[wistful music playing]
[fire whooshing, crackling]
My little boy
I will build you a home
with all of my love.
I'm now teaching at an art school.
And in the afternoons I dedicate myself
to the beauty of painting.
As soon as I finish one I have to sell it to
earn enough money for the monthly expenses.
If it weren't for my health
you could even say that I'm happy.
[birds chirping]
Up until 1950, I was doing well enough.
But now my health is at its worst.
[optimistic music playing]
[Alejandro]
Frida became a professional patient.
She had many surgical interventions
a parade of doctors and orthopedic braces.
They would hang her to
straighten her spine.
[Frida] This is my reality.
There is no remedy.
Despite it all
nothing is better than laughter.
Laughing hard gives you strength.
[Dr. Guillermo Velasco y Polo] At the
hospital, Frida made light of her pain
and swore all the time.
[Frida] Fucking life.
[Diego] If she saw me with
a pretty woman, she'd say
[Frida] Pass her to me. I'll take a puff.
I'm always in a cast
but I'm not discouraged.
I have an enormous will to live.
Long live life!
- [soft, melancholy music playing]
- [birds chirping]
I'm sure they will amputate my right leg.
I don't know the details
but my doctors are concerned.
- [pencil scratching paper]
- [wind blowing softly]
I'm an invalid.
Now I am trapped
in this fucking house of oblivion.
Yellow
sickness
fear
All the ghosts wear this color.
Red
blood
Black
Nothing is black
truly nothing.
[breathes deeply]
I want to die.
[Judith Ferreto]
After the operation to amputate her leg
everything was silent.
Not even Diego's presence helped
and she didn't want to paint at all.
The doctor said
not to force her to do anything
because she didn't want to live anymore.
But one morning, she
looked up at me and said
[Frida] I think I'm going to paint.
[Judith] I had to bind her to her
wheelchair so she could sit up straight.
[match strikes]
[inhales]
[exhales heavily]
[Frida] In my life I've painted little
without the slightest desire
for glory or ambition
with the sole conviction
to give myself pleasure
and the power to make
a living with my trade.
I've lost so many things
I wanted for my life.
But painting completed my life.
[Lola lvarez Bravo] I told Diego it was an outrage that
we had never held an exhibition for Frida in Mexico
and what would he say about
holding one in my gallery.
EXHIBITION OF FRIDA KAHLO'S
BODY OF WORK
-[cheering and applause]
- [gentle music playing]
[Diego] She arrived in an ambulance
like a heroine.
Frida sat in the middle of the room.
She was pleased to see so many people
honoring her warmly.
She said almost nothing.
She must have realized
she was bidding life goodbye.
[Frida] I am not afraid of death.
Even so, I must face the bitter fact
that having many lives
would still not be enough
for me to paint everything I want.
What is joy?
The creation born of discovery.
[spirited music playing]
The lonely deer wandered
very sad and very hurt
until it found warmth and a home.
When the deer returns
strong, happy and healed
the wounds he now bears
will all have been erased.
Thank you for giving me solace.
In the deer's forest, the sky is now clear.
[Marissa Mur and Luis Jimenez: "Amores"]
[song continues with
lyrics sung in Spanish]
[song ends]