She’s a “rebel”. A “rule-breaker” and a “breaker of taboos”. A “flouter of respect”. Art, we are told, “was her superpower”.
You could be forgiven, at the start of this excellent three-part documentary series that claims to go beyond the myth of the painter Frida Kahlo, for thinking that it was maybe just a bit in thrall to the myth after all. It’s definitely not short on awe, but with such diverse and intimate material as personal letters, diary entries, original footage and photographs, as well as quite a few talking heads, there’s shock too. And slowly, the woman whose physical and emotional torment screams from those iconic canvases, comes into sharper focus.
