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.
