FRIDA – Review

Frida Kahlo remains endlessly intriguing, in part because the Mexican artist’s colorful paintings remain striking, mysterious and even slightly disturbing and partly because of her bold, dramatic, sometimes tragic life. The artist has been the subject of several films, both narrative and documentary, and Kahlo has been played beautifully by actresses Salma Hayek and Ofelia Medina among others. But in director/writer Carla Gutierrez’s new biographical documentary FRIDA, Frida Kahlo plays herself.

Gutierrez’s FRIDA brings fresh insights into Frida Kahlo’s life and work, by putting that life into her own words for the first time, words exclusively drawn from her letters, interviews and her illustrated diary. We also hear the words of those who knew her, including husband and fellow painter Diego Rivera. The documentary is Carla Gutierrez’s directorial debut but Gutierrez is an acclaimed editor whose films include the Ruth Bader Ginsberg documentary RBG. FRIDA is excellent, both engrossing in its narrative and visually appealing, as it covers about 40 years of the artist’s life. The writer/director had unrestricted access to materials about the artist and the film includes materials never before revealed to the public.

We feel we are getting a true sense of the artist personally by hear her words. As we hear those words read by various actors, they are illustrated by Frida’s colorful, biographical paintings and by charming animations, often animating the paintings themselves. Kahlo’s color-drenched canvases are so animated anyway, that adding movement to them seems entirely natural.

The animated paintings and the voice-over readings are accompanied by a plethora of black-and-white photos and film footage, often with their own added animated splashes of vibrant color.

Frida Kahlo began life as the feisty, independent, creative child of a professional artist. Originally she planned to become a doctor, and at college she fell in with a group of pranksters. As the only woman in the group, Kahlo often dressed as a man, a cutting-edge fashion choice in the 1920s, and she participated in the pranks and had a budding romance with one of the group. Her life was suddenly changed forever by a serious traffic accident, which left her with life-long physical problems with her spine and pelvis and in pain.

While in recovery, confined to bed, she was given paints, canvas and a mirror, and thus began her habit of self-portraits, portraits that reflected her feelings and experiences in symbolic, surrealist form. Her paintings have been described as surrealist, magical realism and native for their immersion in Mexican culture, but she developed her own unique style, entirely apart from other artist movements.

The documentary covers her romance with the older artist Diego Rivera, their open marriage, and her adoption of dressing in a Mexican folk style, to express her proud Mexican identity. The film follows the couple’s travels to the U.S., their shared communist beliefs, and the couple offer of refuge to Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky when he was exiled by Stalin, among other moments in her life.

One of the most striking things about hearing Frida Kahlo’s own words is how much they reveal her personality. Her writings are sharp and witty, but also sometimes biting and even salty, which feels a bit unexpected. We hear her thoughts on wealthy Americans she met in New York and European artists she met in Paris, like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, both generally negative but with a pointed humor too.

Important figures from Frida’s too-short life also weigh in, including Diego Rivera, friends, fellow artists, and relatives, which helps FRIDA paint a well-rounded portrait that brings you closer to this remarkable woman artist like never before.

Hearing others who actually knew her speaking about Frida helps us realize things about her, such as how small and fragile she was, with many describing her as bird-like. That delicateness is not something revealed in her forceful paintings or even in the many photos of the artist, who often looks out at us boldly with a confident or challenging stare.

Overall, FRIDA is a fascinating, thoroughly enjoyable film about a great artist who truly painted from her heart. It is a worthy, even essential, addition to the many films about Frida Kahlo, offering the most deeply personal insights on the artist herself.

FRIDA debuts streaming on Thursday, Mar. 14, on Amazon Prime.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars