LEONORA IN THE MORNING LIGHT by Thor Klein and Lena Vurma, the first feature about surrealist British-Mexican artist Leonora Carrington (1919-2011), is based on the eponymous novel by Michaela Carter, which is named after the portrait that Max Ernst did of Carrington in 1940. In 1947, Carrington and Ernst met each other in Paris; she was 19, he was 47. They were together for three years, before Ernst was arrested in 1940, France fell into Nazi hands, and Carrington fled to Mexico via Spain. Three of a total of 94 years of Carrington's life, to which she is often reduced to this day.
LEONORA shows which relationship deserves the most attention in Carrington’s life: the one to Spanish painter Remedios Varo (Cassandra Ciangherotti). They also met in Paris and landed in Mexico City after fleeing from Europe, where they were able to find real successful with their art for the first time. While the two first truly got to know each other there and forged a long friendship, they never really connect in the film. As beautiful as the final shot is, in which we see Carrington painting for minutes, it somehow also suggests a certain loneliness that women have repeatedly been accused of throughout cultural history – friendships and networks between women are repeatedly undervalued, unrecognized, or concealed. Unfortunately, the film also fails to reveal that, in addition to painting, Carrington was a successful sculptor, performance artist, author, and dramaturge.
LEONORA shows us that Carrington always resisted being fetishized as a “muse” by her male contemporaries – who coined the absurd term “femme-enfant” (“child-woman”) for women like her – but despite all of her best intentions, she cannot prevent herself from falling into this trap.
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