There are visionary artists that come about once in a generation. Frida Kahlo is one of those artists. Having a love of art, I was very interested in this documentary of the famous painter, wondering how the artist would be portrayed and how faithful the film would be. After watching the movie, I found the film brilliant and authentic, using Frida’s own words to create a beautiful and powerful homage to a unique woman. 

“Frida” is a documentary directed by Carla Gutierrez in her directorial  debut. The documentary details the life and art of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo from a first person perspective. The film documents many of the pivotal and crucial moments in Frida’s life, including the trolley car accident that left her disabled for the remainder of her life. It explores her marriage to Diego Rivera, including both of their affairs and the miscarriage of their child. Most of all, it illustrates how these pivotal moments are reflected in Frida’s paintings and how she explores her own reality within her art. 

What makes this film such a brilliant piece of work is the use of Frida’s own writings and visual diary to create a first person narrative of her life. The film uses quotes from individuals connected with Frida as well to add insight to her words and other perspectives. While the voices of Frida and her compatriots are created by actors, it helps recreate Frida’s own narrative, allowing an illusion of her speaking directly to the audience. It also enhances the authenticity of the documentary, allowing the audience to see the reality of Frida’s life.

Besides the use of her own words, the movie also has a unique use of animation to bring to life Frida’s artwork. The amazing use of the animation creates stunning beauty and a powerful statement, allowing viewers to see what a genius Frida was, how creative and unusual her painting and art truly were. She created a surrealistic style of art with no knowledge of the surrealism movement. The documentary shows how visionary Frida truly was.

The documentary does an excellent job of detailing all the critical elements of Frida’s life, from her accident, to her romances, her marriage to Diego Rivera and how much painting was her passion. She painted, not for glory, fame or money but for the love of beauty. Her love of beauty and her love of painting is very clearly reflected in this film. 

The documentary shows just how unique Frida’s gift of expression was, how unique an individual she was, breaking free of the rules of society and finding her own way. The film is truly faithful to who Frida was and the use of her own words is profound and powerful. This is a passionate exploration of her life and unflinching in how her pain impacted her. With brilliant animation, a beautiful look at her art, and an authentic look at her own words, this is one of the most beautiful and powerful films that I have seen. 

Rating: 5 out 5 paintings.

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