It's been over 20 years since Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina missed out on an Oscar for FRIDA. That was a steamy kaleidoscope that was a blockbuster and an art-house film in one. WINTER AS FRIDA KAHLO is just as headlong and adventurous, if more intimate and painterly. It also features many paintings of Frida Kahlo in visual montage sequences overlaid with a gorgeous soundtrack. It's quite a unique element that ties up the threads of the story in a remarkable way.
"Frida" in this version is played by Cheynne Hernandez and "Diego" is an actor called Simon Palomares. "Diego" is always meant to be the bad guy - but gets some funny lines and is even emotional and deep from time to time. Hernandez is always deep and ALWAYS intense. I absolutely loved her as Frida. Watching her had me doomscrolling Frida on my phone to all hours after watching this film. I knew about the affair Diego had with Frida's sister, but in WINTER AS FRIDA KAHLO it's a more devastatingly voyeuristic look at what happens when a relationships shatters - but also at what a love looks like that you'll believe can survive anything.
This is a film to watch if you're looking for intelligent dialogue and something genuinely beautiful to watch. The ending will make you think because of a surprise twist that made me smile. The whole film made me look at Frida not differently, but more closely. It's very, very good and an 8 out of 10 for me.
