Frida

[Drunk Monk]

A new documentary based on Frida Kalho’s journals. Her life was so poignantly and fiercely tragic, another tortured artist who hardly got to experience her impact. Her relationship with Diego Rivera is loco, two pivotal Mexican artists with insatiable sexual appetites and unique visions make for a rollercoaster romance and profound betrayals. Her rejection of surrealism in Paris and what an asshole Breton was to her. Her battle with her devastating accident and constant gender oppression. All makes for a captivating documentary.

I remember hearing that someone was carrying a sack of gold dust next to her during the bus a code t and when the rail punched through her spine, it tore off her clothes and showered her naked body with gold dust. That wasn’t mentioned so I wonder if it’s a false memory now. Perhaps I’ll look it up later.

A device of this doc is to animate her paintings and drawings which worked for me sometimes. It also failed for me because it messed with her compositions. 

There’s lots of great archival photos and footage, mostly B&W, accentuated by colorization of central figures. That works well for this. 

Only D00M recommended if you have an interest in Frida. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of her art, but I respect its honesty and translucency.