Hilma Movie Review

『Art, Spirituality, and the Deep Bond of Queer Companionship: The Light and Shadow Within』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Hilma (2022)
🌍 Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Biography / Art
🗓️ Production & Release: Viaplay Group, 2023
⏳ Runtime: 119 minutes
📢 Director: Lasse Hallström
🖋️ Screenplay: Lasse Hallström
📺 Platform: Apple TV+, Prime Video, etc.

👩‍💼 Cast: Tora Hallström – Young Hilma af Klint, Lena Olin – Older Hilma af Klint
Catherine Chalk – Young Anna Cassel, Diana Valiusaitiene – Older Anna Cassel
Lily Cole – Matilda, Tom Wlaschiha – Rudolf Steiner

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🎨 The Spiritual Journey of Hilma af Klint, a Pioneer Ahead of Her Time

Hilma is a biographical film directed and written by the legendary Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström. It portrays the life, art, and deep spiritual quest of Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), the Swedish painter who was posthumously recognized as a pioneer of abstract art. The film gains additional depth through the real-life mother and daughter casting: Lena Olin and Tora Hallström portray Hilma in her older and younger years, respectively.

📜 Plot Summary

The film does not strictly follow a chronological timeline but instead interweaves significant turning points from Hilma’s youth to her later years.

• Spiritual Awakening in Youth: Hilma experiences the loss of her younger sister and her father’s disappearance, which lead her to question life, death, and the existence of the soul. These experiences spark her lifelong fascination with occultism, theosophy, and spiritualism.
• The Academy and “The Five”: At the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, Hilma shows remarkable talent but feels confined by the conservative realism taught there. Alongside four other female artists, she forms a spiritual group called “De Fem” (The Five), engaging in séances and automatic drawing to capture messages from higher realms.
• The Birth of Abstract Art: This spiritual practice evolves into Hilma’s groundbreaking abstract paintings, which she believes are guided by spiritual entities. Her work predates Kandinsky’s abstractions, marking a revolutionary artistic shift well ahead of its time.
• The Relationship with Anna Cassel: Hilma’s most profound and enduring relationship is with fellow artist and confidante Anna Cassel. Their connection transcends friendship and professional collaboration, encompassing emotional intimacy, spiritual kinship, and romantic undertones.
• Meeting Rudolf Steiner: Hilma seeks out her spiritual mentor, Rudolf Steiner, founder of anthroposophy, to show him her paintings. However, Steiner deems her work too radical and advises her not to reveal it publicly for at least fifty years. This moment becomes a source of lifelong inner conflict for Hilma.
• Posthumous Recognition: Aware that her art would not be understood in her lifetime, Hilma instructs that her works remain unseen until decades after her death. Only long after her passing is she recognized as a true pioneer of abstract art.

💫 Art, Spirituality, and Conflict with the Times

🖼 The Birth of Abstraction and Its Spiritual Roots

The film emphasizes that Hilma af Klint’s abstract paintings were not mere aesthetic experiments but the result of a profound spiritual quest and mediumistic experience.

• Theosophy and Spiritualism: Hilma engaged deeply with the theosophical and spiritualist movements popular among Europe’s intellectuals at the time. For her, painting was both a means to visualize divine messages and a medium for communicating with the unseen world.
• Revolutionary Nature: While Western art in the early 1900s was still dominated by Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Hilma was already creating organic and geometric abstractions. The film illustrates how her work subverted the artistic conventions of her era.

👩 Women Artists and the Constraints of the Era

Hilma delicately portrays the limitations and prejudices faced by female artists at the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

• Conservatism of the Academy: The art academies of the time demanded rigorous realism and technical accuracy from women while reserving the title of “great artist” for men. Hilma defies these institutional norms and pursues her unique path.
• Unseen Genius: Steiner’s advice and society’s resistance kept Hilma’s brilliance in the shadows throughout her life. The film reveals how deeply isolated she was in a male-dominated intellectual world that dismissed her spiritual and artistic innovations.

💖 Hilma and Anna Cassel: Love, Friendship, and Muse

The relationship between Hilma and Anna Cassel forms one of the most emotionally resonant threads of the film.

• Deep Bond: Anna is Hilma’s most loyal companion and supporter throughout her spiritual and artistic journey. Their relationship surpasses simple friendship, evolving into a deep intellectual, emotional, and possibly romantic connection.
• Queer Interpretation: While the film never explicitly labels their relationship as lesbian, their lifelong devotion, affection, and mutual dependence leave ample room for a queer reading. Anna serves as both Hilma’s muse and the person who shares her deepest struggles.

🎞️ Lasse Hallström’s Direction: Visual Beauty and Inner Exploration

Director Lasse Hallström draws inspiration from Hilma’s paintings, employing vivid and dreamlike visual effects to externalize her inner world and spiritual visions.

• Visual Style: The film mirrors Hilma’s artwork with its striking color palette and mysterious symbolism, immersing viewers in her spiritual universe.
• Focus on Interior Life: Instead of emphasizing external drama, the narrative delves into Hilma’s inner visions and relationships, adding psychological and emotional depth.
• Performances: Lena Olin and Tora Hallström breathe life into Hilma’s different stages, offering layered and empathetic portrayals of a complex artist.

✨ Conclusion and Significance

Hilma is a moving biographical film that sheds light on the extraordinary life of a visionary artist long overlooked by history. Beyond introducing her paintings, it delves into why and how Hilma af Klint created her ahead-of-its-time abstractions, uncovering the spiritual and emotional motivations behind her work.

At the same time, it is a story about the struggles of female artists, conflict with societal norms, and the courage to stay true to oneself. Hilma offers audiences a timeless reflection on beauty, the nature of art, and the power of belief in the unseen world — a film of profound resonance and artistic importance.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★★