The pains and paintings of Frida Kahlo, reanimated

Frida, a new documentary produced by TIME Studios and directed by Carla Gutierrez, explores how the Mexican painter channeled personal tragedies into her art, creating the vibrant surrealist paintings that made her an icon.

- OLIVIA B. WAXMAN

The film brings those paintings to life through an inventive blend of animation, archival footage, and personal writings, billing itself as the first documentary to be told entirely through her own words and those of her intimates. Letters and diary excerpts read in voiceover put Kahlo's sharp tongue on full display on topics ranging from men to the economics of art to the U.S. On the latter: "Everything is about appearances but deep down it's a pile of sh-t