Sundance Film Festival 2024: FRIDA (by Carla Gutiérrez) | Review
Carla Gutiérrez’s FRIDA is a playful, intimate first-person portrait true to Kahlo’s spirit and worldview, presented in the U.S. Documentary Competition of Sundance 2024.
Crafting a first-person portrait of an artist as iconic as Frida Kahlo is no small feat, yet FRIDA, premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition, tackles this challenge ingeniously by letting the artist’s own words take center stage. The film seamlessly weaves together Kahlo’s productions and writings, originally not conceived as a cohesive work but, in essence, an amalgamation of her own creations and words.
Directed by the talented first-timer Carla Gutiérrez, known for her Emmy-nominated editing work on documentaries like RBG and La corona, FRIDA stands out as a unique homage. It skillfully narrates Kahlo’s life story, utilizing her handwritten archives to create a narrative rich with her experiences, emotions, and perceptions. This approach transforms the film into not just a tribute to her body of work but a meta-work echoing the spirit of Kahlo’s autobiographical endeavors.
The film unfolds Kahlo’s childhood, marked by an early curiosity challenging established norms, progressing through her rebellious adolescence, culminating in a life-altering bus accident. It traces her artistic evolution from initial self-portraits created while bedridden to her exploration of surrealism. Beyond her art, the film paints a portrait of a woman deeply engaged with her era, a determined and free-spirited individual critical of the world around her.
What comes to the fore in FRIDA is the animation of Kahlo’s artworks, by Sofía Inés Cázares and Renata Galindo, breathing life and depth into them. This daring initiative by the filmmaker enhances the visual experience, respectfully highlighting the richness, colors, and vitality of Kahlo’s compositions.
Regretfully, the limited screen time devoted to Frida’s works sometimes relegates them to mere illustrations, overshadowed by the narrative. The filmmaker’s animation can occasionally be distracting and gimmicky, diverting attention from the mysterious allure of Frida’s creations.
Moreover, although the film is intimate, and engaging, the voice-over’s conventional tone misses an opportunity to resonate more uniquely with Kahlo’s extraordinary character. While commendable, some might find the interpretation of the voice-over lacking in personality, failing to fully capture the emotional spectrum evident in Kahlo’s self-portraits.
Despite these drawbacks, the film succeeds in crafting a playful, intimate first-person portrait true to Kahlo’s spirit and worldview, offering an enchanting glimpse into her life and the influence of her struggles on her art. FRIDA remains a touching and revealing portrayal of a remarkable woman who chose painting as a means to freedom, providing viewers with a key to understanding the artist and her legacy.
FRIDA is due for release on Prime Video on March 15th, 2024.
