Frida

As "Frida" (2024 release; 84 min.) opens, we are introduced to Frida Kahlo, a painter from Mexico from the early-to-mid 1900s. The documentary reminds us that she left a large legacy of writings including an illustrated diary and letters, and that all commentary we hear are Frida's own words. We then go back to "1910" to Frida's earliest years.... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love from editor Carla Guttierez, making her directorial debut. With the help of several animators, Kahlo's life, works and times are presented on a grand and colorful scale. I was generally aware of who Frida Kahlo was, but didn't know many of the personal details that are brought forward in the documentary, including the devastating bus crash that she was involved in (in 1925), which had significant physical consequences the rest of her life. Part of the charm of this documentary is also looking back at what life was like in the 1920's-30's-40's. Check out the footage of when Friday and her husband (the renowned Mexican painter Diego Rivera) visit New York and Detroit in the early 1930's. Not to be picky, but couldn't Guttierez come up with a better film title than the generic "Frida"? That aside, I found this documentary thoroughly enjoyable (and, dare I say, educational) from start to finish.

"Frida" premiered at this year's Sundance film festival, to immediate critical acclaim. The movie is currently rated 905 Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. The movie started streaming on Amazon Prime Video 2 weeks ago, and I caught up with it last night. If you have any interest in arts, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Frida Kahlo is one of the most interesting painters as he background and history is pretty strange yet interesting to learn about. This documentary does an wonderful job on presenting the life of Frida with strong direction, good dialogue read from the excerpts of her diaries that lets us go into the mind of Frida, and strong visual presentations throughout. Filmmaker Carla Gutierrez presents a good insight of Frida Kahlo with interesting presentation choices, structures and documentary vibes throughout which I found to be purposeful and insightful.

I have known about Frida when I was in art classes as a kid and I had seen the feature film about her but this documentary provided some new aspects and ideas about what made her special that I didn't know about. The narration felt poetic and the uses of sound designs and music are really compelling that helps to add the feel to the documentary.

Overall really good.

I was fortunate to attend a sneak preview of this film the other day in a theatre. What a great experience. The movie is narrated from Frida's notebooks, and you really feel like you know her after seeing this remarkable film.

It utilizes her paintings in an innovative way. Adding animation to these scenes really brings her story to life. I knew she was in a tragic accident when she was young, but I had no idea just how much it affected her life. And it gives you a clear picture of what a self-centered jerk Diego Rivera was.

But you also have a great deal of admiration for Frida as an artist, and also as a Bohemian personality. What a life!

MovieJunkieMark.

According to her bio, Frida Kahlo painted because she must. This was the only way she could express herself. Collected letters, personal writings, and an illustrated diary are all used breathe life into the new biopic, Frida. Her mom was obsessively religious, her father a photographer, a reader and an atheist. Frida was rebellious, drawn to the bad boys. For years she wore men's suits instead of dresses. Laughed when her classmates strapped fireworks to a dog and let him run around their school.

She and her first love, Alejandro, were involved in a terrible traffic accident in Mexico, when she was quite young. They thought Frida would not survive. Though she did not succumb to her injuries, she endured months of casts and terrible pain every day, though this never stopped her from creating iconic self-portraits throughout her life.

Using animation to bring movement to her artwork, plus adding splashes of color to newsreels and archival footage, Frida's production team recreates the artist's life and times in sound and visuals. Kahlo was a self-described communist. She, and other Mexican artists of the time, such as muralist Diego Rivera, used their talents to emphasize the spirit of the revolution. She and Rivera began an intimate relationship, eventually marrying. Kahlo's own style evolved to become more like Rivera's.

What's fascinating here is that in Frida, Kahlo comes across in real life as joyous, and not the dour woman we expect her to be, based on her self-portraits. Understanding that she was in constant pain does help one to comprehend the reason her portraits seem to project stern aloofness. In her writings, she also expresses her disgust at the conditions of the workers in America in the early 20th century, the extreme divisions between rich and poor.

Kahlo has multiple affairs with scholars and artists of the time, including Leon Trotsky and Georgia O'Keefe. Rivera, too, has multiple affairs including one with Frida's own sister. Eventually the couple divorce.

Kahlo then becomes more prolific, pushing forward with her take on artistic surrealism, though she had no idea at the time that she was part of that movement. Then, just as quickly, the whole NY art scene sickens her, pushing her in her creative journey. Like many artists, she finds some happiness but also experiences deep depression.

I'm honestly unsure what type of audience will appreciate the film. I feel that it would play tremendously well if it were accompanied by an exhibition of her work, perhaps running at a venue like the Dali Museum in St. Pete.

Creating this kind of documentary must have been difficult. The years we are talking about are 1907 - 1954 so although there are some original film from those years it is not enough to make a full-length movie, however the directors here choose to almost verbatim read off Frida's diary which is surprisingly reach and spans over many years. Also photos and archives of the actual art and people that are involved. The outcome is mesmerizing and although I'm not a big fan of these kind of documentaries it was interesting enough for a 90 minutes watch.

This is not a kind of a movie that would be a block-buster hit. It is not a person that everyone knows, her life, although very bohemian and flamboyant is still confined to art lovers. And it is a documentary, not showing any actors at all, only real people voices or voice-over. Having said that, I did watch Frida Kahlo movie from 2002 in which she is portrayed by Salma Hayek, and I think this documentary is actually better, in a sense that you are getting what really happened and not a mere Holywoodic mirror of it.

One criticism I do have for this movie is the animation of Kahlo's paintings, which from art perspective is unique and refreshing, but for me sometimes I couldn't tell what was a real painting and what was an artist or CGI alteration of it. I wish they would show the actual art as is, unaltered.

People who decide to watch this movie should be aware of the nudity imagery that this documentary contain, but if you are in learning mode, history and art, you'll find a beautifully made movie and a truly deep life lesson. This movie is absolutely a must for art students and people that have a thirst for knowledge.

Exact score: 77 / 100.