Very unusual movie experienceThis strange art-drama is an adaptation of the biography of famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. On the story itself I have no objections, but it did not leave a particularly strong impression on me either. But the performance of Salma Hayek and the way in which the movie was filmed are truly impressive. The camera, directing and editing are very unusual and interesting, especially the way in which the animation is integrated (Frida's paintings coming to life and the surreal scenes that illustrate Frida's states of mind), as well as excellent music.7,5/10

This movie evokes David Lean's "Lawrence Of Arabia" in a sense, that both movies were not intended to be straight biographies of their respective historical figures. In fact, this movie even made me think of the "I Love Lucy" sitcom, with Diego Rivera as the buffoon to Frida Kahlo the straight woman.The movie starts with Frida Kahlo at age 18, just before she had the accident while riding a bus, which would cause her crippling injuries she would carry for the remainder of her life. She is given a canvas and paints by her family to occupy her while she initially recovers, and she adopts a surrealistic style, and later meets and marries already famous muralist Diego Rivera. They become left-wing radicals while living in high society, move to the United States where Rivera would try to paint his mural depicting Lenin in the Rockefeller Center, then move back when the project is cancelled and the mural destroyed. Both spouses have many extramarital affairs, though Diego gets upset when his wife has one with Leon Trotsky. (I saw the movie in the theater, and the audience all groaned in mockery when Diego complained to Frida about it.)Like I said, the movie is drama rather than biography; we see Frida, despite her sufferings, as strong and laughing at her many troubles. We don't see what moves her politically or artistically, but the movie is for entertainment and not education.

I have to say, this movie was very well done with Salma Hayek playing as the Mexican uni-brow artist Frida. Before watching this movie, I never heard of Frida but all my life, I've seen the painting she did of herself. Now in 2017, I finally got the chance to find out more about Frida and the story behind the paintings she did while she was alive. Honestly, she died so very young at 47 and it was so sad in the end of this movie, she wasn't able to get out of bed. At least she got to see her exhibition and be able to chat to people before her passing. The bus accident didn't really help her poor body and I suppose the surgeries then weren't as effective as they are now. Salma Hayek was the perfect actress to be playing as Frida and she even looked like her! One of the best roles shes ever done hands down!

Frida's life was a soap opera, and seemingly tailor-made for a film, but the tiny budget and mediocre performances don't do justice for such a brilliant artist. The lethargic pacing and frustrating sense of unexplored avenues gives the viewer the sense of an unfinished film. Salma Hayek is suitable in the main role, but she lacks the finesse and stage presence to portray such an iconic figure. Alfred Molina, normally a brilliant, chameleonic actor who vanishes into whatever role he plays, seems strangely inert. Even Geoffrey Rush as Trotsky isn't that great.This claustrophobic film is mostly confined to the interiors of houses or studios, except for a hike up an Aztek pyramid and the famous bus accident that gave Frida lifelong pain. Even the trip to New York is a cheap, unsatisfying pastiche of flat graphics that any high school film studio could put together. One gets the impression that if they threw twenty million more at this film, it would have been as visually stunning as the artist's paintings themselves, which by the way aren't featured as prominently as you might expect.I guess I was expecting the film equivalent of Frida's magical surrealism, but what came across instead was a paint-by-numbers drama force-fitting famous lines everyone knows, such as the mother's lament that Frida's marriage to Diego was like a dove marrying an elephant.