Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), famous as much for her pain as her paintings, was the subject of a biopic directed by Julie Taymor and starring Salma Hayek in the lead role. I watched Frida last night, mindful of what the careful reviewer refers to as certain decisions -- namely, what to leave in and what to leave out.
Surely some of Kahlo's more rabid fans had particular ideas about who this Mexican artist was, or should be remembered by, and I have heard it said that more should have been made of her monkey.
For my part, I liked the fact that the monkey just appears one day, and arguably the most daring scene in this lush and artfully made film comes when Frida is hanging out her bedsheets to dry, with the monkey perched on the clothesline above.
As anyone who has lived with a spider monkey will tell you, the likelihood of a king-sized white bed sheet going "unpainted" in such circumstances is slim. But like everything else in Kahlo's life, this monkey is an exception.
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