Frida (2002)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jennifer X

  
  Visually brilliant biopic about an original directed by an original. Love, love, love.

• Robert C

  
  A feast for the eyes...a famine for the ears. This films moments of immense beauty are almost overshadowed by the mediocre acting. While Salma Hayek certainly looks the part, there is a certain shallowness to her acting abilities that really did not do the character justice.… More
  A feast for the eyes...a famine for the ears. This films moments of immense beauty are almost overshadowed by the mediocre acting. While Salma Hayek certainly looks the part, there is a certain shallowness to her acting abilities that really did not do the character justice. And Ashley Judd's performance (though mercifully brief) is just painful to watch and hear. I did learn a lot about Firda's life and with that insight gained a greater appreciation for her work, but what could have been an AMAZING film with a more solid lead...ended up feeling just like a beautifully filmed vanity piece.

• Jennifer D

  
  I never much cared for Kahlo's work. Still don't. But it made me respect the woman more. After this I can see how well suited this was for Taymor's directing style. The visual effects that worked for her here were very similar in Across the Universe. Outstanding acting… More
  I never much cared for Kahlo's work. Still don't. But it made me respect the woman more. After this I can see how well suited this was for Taymor's directing style. The visual effects that worked for her here were very similar in Across the Universe. Outstanding acting and beautiful cinematography. Probably one of my favorite biopics. (Much better than Evita...)

• Randy T

  
  Fascinating and insightful. Alfred Molina seems perfectly suited for the role of Diego Rivera and Hayek is simply fantastic. The dream sequence and artful animation took me by surprise. 4 and a half stars!

• Spencer S

  
  The visual effects, and the basically brilliant acting by Hayek, makes Frida a must see, and original film.

• Morgan S

  
  cant get past the unibrow...

• Carlos M

  
  This interesting biopic of famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo has some good art direction and photography, in a fine but conventional story.

• Anthony L

  
  Fantastic film. Everything from the direction, cinematography, acting and make-up was superb. It?s one of the best biopics filmed to date. You really do gain understanding of Frida's life and work, interweaving her famous paintings into the film was beautifully done. The only… More
  Fantastic film. Everything from the direction, cinematography, acting and make-up was superb. It?s one of the best biopics filmed to date. You really do gain understanding of Frida's life and work, interweaving her famous paintings into the film was beautifully done. The only thing that would have given this film the full 5 stars, is if it had been filmed in Spanish. Still, a great film!

• Megan S

  
  I liked it, but it didn't really add anything to the biopics that I've already seen on her. I did like the cool ways they integrated her paintings into the film though. Frida's story just fascinates me, she was such a tortured soul.

• Kylie B

  
  I don't think I've ever seen Salma Hayek act so well. I particularly enjoyed how they incorporated Kahlo's paintings into the plot, and how in part they shot New York and Paris using black and white (either collage through King Kong, or black and white with Kahlo in… More
  I don't think I've ever seen Salma Hayek act so well. I particularly enjoyed how they incorporated Kahlo's paintings into the plot, and how in part they shot New York and Paris using black and white (either collage through King Kong, or black and white with Kahlo in colour). It gave the film an eclectic feel which I felt fit well with Kahlo's painting style. However, it would have been nice if Edward Norton had been given a bigger part, though as who I don't know.

• Michael S

  
  Outstanding Biopic.

• Dean M

  
  Salma Hayek does a spectaular performance as the real-life artist Frida Kahlo as how much I love the famous biographies.

• Aaron N

  
  Frida Kahlo: I love a man with melones that are bigger than mine. Diego Rivera: And I love a woman with cajones. Besides getting to see Salma Hayek naked, there is also a very good movie here. It is about the aritist Frida Kahlo, who goes through a lot during her life time. She was… More
  Frida Kahlo: I love a man with melones that are bigger than mine. Diego Rivera: And I love a woman with cajones. Besides getting to see Salma Hayek naked, there is also a very good movie here. It is about the aritist Frida Kahlo, who goes through a lot during her life time. She was a bisexual painter, married to a communist, who had some accidents in her life and affairs with many people, including Leon Trotsky. Her husband was also involved in different affairs and episodes during his time as an artist as well. The movie is well acted, featuring a broad cast beside Hayek including Doc Oc, El Mariachi, The Illusionist, and Captain Barbossa. The films style is very good as well, combing practical effects with Frida's actual paintings. A very good film about the life of this woman.

• Rico Z

  
  In a perfect world, Salma Hayek should've gotten an Academy Award for her performance as the Mexican painter. But, living in a flawed world, you will still appreciate the courage it took to play such a strong woman and the art direction is simply exquisite.

• Laura C

  
  Visually stunning, has got to be my favorite film aesthetically speaking. Even the trolley crash that crippled Frida was beautifully shot and styled. Salma Hayak's performance was outstanding. I admire her perserverance to have this film made.

• Cinema F

  
  The choice of Julie Taymor to direct a film about Frida Kahlo was an excellent stroke. Here was a director with the same fierce and energy and intelligence as Kahlo herself. Taymor also had just the right mixture of imagination and sardonic wit to keep Frida's story from turning… More
  The choice of Julie Taymor to direct a film about Frida Kahlo was an excellent stroke. Here was a director with the same fierce and energy and intelligence as Kahlo herself. Taymor also had just the right mixture of imagination and sardonic wit to keep Frida's story from turning into a melodrama, as the film was given a light touch without losing depth and without ignoring Kahlo's dark side. Of course, most films on artists' lives drown in angst, grotesque behaviour on how and why the artist creates. Yet the film is a different kind of story that offered unusual insight into not only the creative impulses of a truly unique woman artist, but also into one of the most passionate and complex love stories of our time. Thirty years of Frida's life are covered in the span of a two-hour film. It's a film with combination of epic tale of love, art and politics.

• Juli R

  
  This is a stunning biopic about painter Frida Kahlo. The screenplay seems a bit all over the place, but so was Kahlo's life. Impressive performance by Salma Hayek. Director Julie Taymor is one to watch.

• Doctor S

  
  Exceptional biopic chronicling the life of Frida Kahlo, a prominent Mexican artist to whom I was completely oblivious. And what a life she lived! From suffering crippling back & leg injuries during a bus accident as a teenager, to romancing Mexico's most important painter… More
  Exceptional biopic chronicling the life of Frida Kahlo, a prominent Mexican artist to whom I was completely oblivious. And what a life she lived! From suffering crippling back & leg injuries during a bus accident as a teenager, to romancing Mexico's most important painter of the 1930's Diego Rivera, to participating in her country's socialist uprising, to indulging in bisexual relationships, to gaining international fame as painter herself, to having an affair with communist fugitive Leo Trotsky! The film does a great job of highlighting some of the turning points in Frida's life while exploring her psyche and detailing her artistic vision. They show many examples of her work, which are at turns captivating, surreal, and horrific. Her style evolves from simple portraiture to complex, sometimes grotesque imagery. "I don't believe that ever before has a woman put such agonized poetry on canvas," as Diego Rivera describes. The movie gave me a real, firm sense of this woman's motivations, as if it knows what is talking about, not some fuzzy portrait where I don't know any more than when I started which frequently is a biopic's pitfall. The production is glorious, colorful, and authentic, harmonizing with a vibrant soundtrack and some ingenious visual effects that literally bring some of Frida's artwork to life. The acting is equally superb top to bottom. Salma Hayek is completely infused with her subject's spirit and clearly, as star and co-producer, this was a labor of love. I hadn't realized before how short she is, but she rocks a unibrow like no other. Other than knowledge of some award nominations, I had no expectations for <i>Frida</i> and it emerged a real winner.

• Sunil J

  
  Salma Hayek can now be added to the list of women who acheive greatness in a dramatic role, get nominated for an Oscar, and go back to making mediocre movies.

• shane h

  
  I love the unibrow, I think if her and Liam Gallager had a baby it would be awful. I loved the camera work and the artistic effects transforming painting of real life into real life in front of our eyes. Salma Hayek plays a famous painter and revolutionary Frida Kahlo. There is a star… More
  I love the unibrow, I think if her and Liam Gallager had a baby it would be awful. I loved the camera work and the artistic effects transforming painting of real life into real life in front of our eyes. Salma Hayek plays a famous painter and revolutionary Frida Kahlo. There is a star studded cast take us on the journey of this amazing painter, from the tragic accident to the bitter end. She was quite a colorful person in a colorful world

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