The Bottom Line
While I think "Frida" is only so-so as a character study or as a drama, I thoroughly enjoyed it as a historical spectacle and as a love story.
Pros
- Visually arresting and has good musical score
- Covers many historically interesting incidents
- Entertaining as spectacle
Cons
- Feels like a sequence of vignettes
- Often has a docudrama feel
- Sometimes feels too much like a costume drama
Description
- Two-disc DVD set containing English-language movie "Frida" (2002)
- Film is a biopic about celebrated Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-54)
- Movie nominated for 6 Academy Awards and won Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Makeup
- Film stars Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo and Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera
- Movie features appearances by Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton, Geoffrey Rush
- DVD set contains many extras, including feature-length commentary by director Julie Taymor
- Excellent picture quality
- Excellent sound quality
- DVD release date: June 10, 2003
Guide Review - "Frida" DVD Review
"Frida" is an English-language biopic about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek) and her husband, legendary Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). While I think "Frida" is only so-so as a character study or as a drama, I thoroughly enjoyed it as a historical spectacle and as a love story. The film chronicles the key incidents in Kahlo’s life from age 15 to her death at age 47, and what a tumultuous life she led! I liked it that the movie tried to address Kahlo's development as an artist, her divorce from and remarriage to Rivera, and her affairs with Leon Trotsky and Josephine Baker. I loved the cinematography, musical score, sets, costumes, and locations, and I found Hayek and Molina to be charming in the leading roles.
