Worth: $13.50
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Cast:
Tora Hallström, Lena Olin, Catherine Chalk
Intro:
A visually interesting and emotionally empathetic biography full of love and respect for its subject …
Pioneer of the Swedish art world, Hilma af Klint achieves another career milestone, this time as the subject of a major biopic. In this, Lasse Hallström’s love letter to the groundbreaking abstract artist, we stand witness to the very tangible imprint Hilma left behind as her legacy, from thwarting society’s expectations for a woman in her position, to her actual physical creations, as striking and grand as they are whimsical and erratic.
As unique as Hilma herself (here played by Tora Hallström) was known to be, the structure of her story falls into the familiar pattern of biopics that have come before. A beloved older sister forced to witness the untimely death of her sibling, a tragedy that shapes her for years to come and starts her on the path to becoming the legendary artist we know today. It feels disrespectful to bear witness to the suffering of a real-life figure and call it cliché, but unfortunately for a film portraying one of the most influential female rule breakers in the Western art world, the film itself takes few risks.
While it’s pretty to look at, much like Hilma herself refusing to exhibit her art for fear of ridicule, the film fails to push boundaries or make any bold statements. The casual, near-chaste depictions of Hilma’s romantic relationships with the women in her life, while perhaps intended to portray her sexuality as natural and intrinsic rather than something to be poked, prodded, or placed under a microscope, instead feels almost as if those relationships are being carefully curated and sanitised.
Hilma’s journey—from budding scientist, searching for meaning behind life’s pain and beauty, to a young artist discovering new ways to work through those unanswerable questions via invention and creation—is a journey beautifully rendered. A poem in motion at times, Hallström brings Hilma’s own works to life by weaving their colour and light throughout the more emotional moments of Hilma’s story. A visually interesting and emotionally empathetic biography full of love and respect for its subject, there’s a compelling fragility and depth present throughout, especially during the scenes where the older Hilma (Lena Olin) is captivatingly delicate in her desperation to be seen by a world which consistently pushes her aside.
