Overview
A passionate exploration of love, art, and identity unfolds in the vibrant world of Frida Kahlo.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- passionate
- sensual
- anguished
- art film night
- biopic double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film passionate, involving, and visually striking, while noting that its episodic treatment sometimes softens the force of Kahlo's story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story follows Frida Kahlo's life, relationships, political milieu, disability, and artistic development.
Julie Taymor connects Kahlo's canvases to the surrounding drama through colorful, expressive imagery and painterly transformations.
Kahlo's disability, injuries, romantic turmoil, and political convictions are closely linked to her paintings and artistic identity.
Frida's relationships with women and men, including Diego Rivera and Leon Trotsky, are central to her unconventional public life.
Films like Frida, and why
The Danish Girl
passionate biographical drama centered on a groundbreaking female artist, with vivid visual design and intimate personal relationships
Pollock
stylized artist biopic combining romantic turmoil, bodily suffering, and psychologically expressive imagery
Basquiat
visually ambitious biographical drama about an iconic artist whose creative identity is inseparable from personal anguish
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
lgbtq+-inflected period biopic portraying an unconventional artist amid intense relationships and social change
Movie Details
- Director
- Julie Taymor
- Release Date
- 2002-08-29
- Runtime
- 123 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (2223)
Cast
- Salma Hayek Pinault
- Alfred Molina
- Mía Maestro
- Patricia Reyes Spíndola
- Edward Norton
- Antonio Banderas
- Diego Luna
- Roger Rees
- Ashley Judd
- Saffron Burrows
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Frida about?
- A fiercely sensual and visually inventive portrait of Frida Kahlo's art, pain, politics, and unapologetic loves.
- What is Frida like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Frida as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Frida violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Frida as mild.
- What did critics think of Frida?
- Critics broadly found the film passionate, involving, and visually striking, while noting that its episodic treatment sometimes softens the force of Kahlo's story.
- Which films are like Frida?
- Films with a similar feel include The Danish Girl, Pollock, Basquiat, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
- How long is Frida?
- Frida runs 123 minutes.
- Where can I watch Frida?
- In United States, Frida streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel.
