

Suddenly she embraces him and is racked by the returning pain of her living existence. Diego comforts Frida, offers assistance, and asks for forgiveness for their difficult past. Frida tries to paint but, no longer having a reflection in the physical world, she cannot summon her primary subject-her own image.

Diego begs her to embrace him, and Catrina reminds Frida that her time is limited and she must not touch the living.
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Diego feels the presence of death and is reminded of his own mortality as the two artists mourn the state of the city and its broken, beautiful past.įrida finds Leonardo and learns that he has visited Greta Garbo’s admirer, fulfilling the man’s fantasy of meeting the movie star and providing the departed actor with a successful performance.ĭiego leads Frida back to her beloved home, Casa Azul, where she must confront the realities of her past life and the limitations of her return. Diego pleads for an embrace which Frida cannot give.Ī passing beggarwoman is a reminder of the darker world around them. Frida is overjoyed to be without pain and part of the vibrant life around her.

Diego’s pleas have been answered and Frida is again in the world of the living.įrida and Diego find themselves together in Alameda Park, strolling among living and departed souls together. He is unable to paint, unable to embrace his mortality and tormented by the absence of Frida when she suddenly appears to him. In the world of the living, Diego is bereft of inspiration. Catrina allows it but not before laying out the rules: The visit is for 24 hours only, and there is to be no touching the living-“A caress can cost you the memory of pain.” As Diego continues to summon Frida from above, she and the other departed souls begin their return. Frida pleads for him, and Catrina relents.Īt the last minute, Frida decides she will return to the world of the living. Catrina notices Leonardo in his Garbo costume and forbids his ruse as Greta Garbo has not yet died. She calls on Frida, who continues to protest. Catrina returns, calling out the names of those who have been summoned, and readies them for their return. He dresses her in her trademark clothes, adorning her hair with ribbons and flowers. He wants to go back as Garbo, to please a fan of the actress who waits every year hoping for a visit from his long unseen (and assumed departed) idol.Ī fellow artistic spirit, Leonardo encourages Frida to return for herself, her art, and the chance to paint a new Frida without pain or anguish.

Other departed souls playfully implore Frida to return to Diego, but Frida refuses.Ĭatrina arrives to gather those who have been summoned, chasing off a young man trying to sneak back to the living world after he failed to return to the underworld in time the previous year.įrida notices a young actor, Leonardo, practicing his impersonation of Greta Garbo. She prefers her refuge of darkness and silence. Catrina insists that Frida must return to accompany her dying husband on his journey to the underworld.įrida, having found release in death from both her mercurial relationship and agonizing physical pain, questions why she would return to the world of the living. Frida defies the powerful Catrina, refusing to believe that Diego has called her. In Mictlán, the Aztec underworld, Catrina summons Frida to arise and return to visit Diego. After Diego leaves, the old woman reveals herself as La Catrina, Keeper of the Dead. Diego’s reverie is interrupted by an old woman selling flowers. As the villagers depart, Diego calls out to Frida, revealing his fears and loneliness and imploring her to return to him. They joke affectionately and then explain their ritual, emphasizing that it is faith in your soul that brings back the dead. A few villagers recognize the famous painter and dare to approach. The year of Diego Rivera’s death and three years after the death of his wife, painter Frida Kahlo.ĭiego Rivera visits a cemetery where villagers have gathered for the annual ritual to honor departed loved ones and summon them to return from the underworld. Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), November 2, 1957.
