Hilma Review
A Beautiful Exploration Of An Unsung Artist
By Liselotte Vanophem
While Hilma af Klint is now considered one of the first abstract artists of the modern world, that wasn’t always the case. When she was still alive, she had to deal with the prejudice of men, and the traditional role of women and her work wasn’t as celebrated as it should have been. It was only in 2019 that her paintings took the world by storm when an exhibition of her was held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Ever since then, this pioneer has been praised all over the world, and the highest praise comes in the form of “Hilma”, the latest movie from writer/director Lasse Hallström (“Chocolat”, “Dear John”). He wants to give Hilma the recognition she deserves, and his beautiful, colourful, dreamy film does precisely that.
At the start of this movie, you meet the older Hilma (Lena Olin), who wants an audience with her brother to talk about her art. Before seeing how their meet-up will turn out, Hallström takes you back to when teenage Hilma (Tora Hallstrom) still had a younger sister Hermina (Emmi Tjernstrom).
After Hermina dies at a very young age, Hilma decides that she has to look for a higher purpose in life instead of just doing what the 19th Century society expects from women. She decides to join the Swedish artist community and ‘The Five’, a clique of female artists. While Hilma’s love for art grows immensely, so does her rebellious side. Instead of seeing art as something to put on display, she sees it as a spiritual pursuit, which results in conflicts between her, the establishment and ‘The Five’. In addition to that, her fascination for the spiritualist side of arts becomes an obsession. Soon, Hilma is fighting for her new ideas alone… Will the patriarchy-like society accept her spiritualistic and beautiful work, and if so, when?
Yes, you probably already guessed it. “Hilma” isn’t only filled with gorgeous paintings from Hilma but also with a vital topic, feminism. As a woman, you are absolutely able to connect with Hilma on so many occasions. Whether it’s Hilma having to deal with the prejudices of society, having to seek male validation or hearing lines such as “you can’t even tell it was painted by a woman” or “could you for once do something girls would do”, you will know what it’s like being in her shoes.
Because feminism is a vital part of this film, you need strong female leads, and Hallström certainly has that. During our interview, Tora Hallström (yes, daughter of) mentioned that this movie is her debut and, just like her, we hope she will continue in the acting world. She puts on a beautiful display as the free-spirited, fierce and carefree young painter.
The older version of Hilma is portrayed by her mother, Lena Olin (“Chocolat”, “Enemies, A Love Story”), and there are a few good reasons for that. Not only because you can see the facial similarities between them but also because Olin is a terrific actress. Her cracking performance is filled with humour, determination, sadness, and anger, and every emotion is put on screen beautifully.
This movie’s greatest asset is, without a doubt, Hilma’s stunning and abstract work. The creative team stunningly re-created every painting you see in “Hilma”. The vibrant colours, pastel shades and unique figures are incredibly eye-popping, which makes this movie extremely captivating. If you didn’t know that the paintings were copies, you would think that Hilma’s real work was used in this movie.
Whether or not you will like this movie depends on how much you’re into art, the artist and her creative legacy. If you’re a fan of abstract work or films such as “Suffragette” and “The Danish Girl”, then “Hilma” is undoubtedly a movie you have to put on your watch list. It’s a beautifully filmed and wonderfully portrayed exploration of an undercelebrated artist, who hopefully will be appreciated even more thanks to Hallström and his team.
“Hilma” is out in UK cinemas now. The movie will also be available in early 2023 on Viaplay UK, Viaplay’s streaming service set to launch this autumn.
Originally published at https://www.ocmoviereviews.com.
