I Am Frankelda Movie Review

I Am Frankelda was a mesmerizing movie about facing your fears and immortalizing your imagination. Seemingly rooted in Mexican folklore, there was magic and mythology on full display. Nevertheless, the filmmakers integrated their own unique creativity into their worldbuilding. A realm of strange creatures existed, just out of reach from humanity. Angels and demons lurked beneath our feet and in our minds. Nightmares were justified by a necessary evil. Ambition was quelled in favor of conformity. A young girl named Francisca Imelda enjoyed writing horror fiction, much to the dismay of her grandma. Her stories were written off by publishers and still they carried a great deal of significance to a community of unknown characters. When Francisca learned her stories were being taken advantage of, she had to intervene. Words on a page were now forces of nature. Her creative process was being tested like never before. Betrayal and trauma landed front and center. Misunderstandings led to wild goose chases. Drama was the main ingredient in this concoction of mystical madness. Figments of her imagination were suddenly very real. Was she having an awakening or had she known about them all along? Francisca could live a fairy tale in an underworld or she could remain human, forever indebted to her grandma. Francisca was troubled by literal manifestations of her moral failings. Good and evil were fighting, and she was indirectly involved. On an individual level, she was interesting to watch evolve. She matured in reality and fantasy with shifting motivations — a heroine in her own story. Her name Frankelda was born from disgrace, effectively an act of defiance. Who she was before wouldn't define who she was becoming, or so she believed.

The artistry of this movie was astounding. I learned that Guillermo del Toro mentored the filmmakers, and it makes total sense. Choosing to do stop-motion animation added a freaky factor. Through doll-like form, each character was carefully and cleverly designed. Their environments were treated with an enigmatic vibrancy. A feeling of unsettlement was omnipresent between both realms, much like how it was in Coraline. Dark clouds loomed over the entire landscape. Finality was staring us down. Could a middle ground be forged? The volatility of the cinematic fabric pierced through its very seams. From time to time, there'd be musical numbers, which actually added more than not. They offered a change of pace from a world of tension. Other musicals have bored me with their illustrious ensembles, but in this movie, they felt right. If anything, they were in line with the already convincing fantastical foundation erected. As the plot advanced, it never lost its logic. Fluctuating between past and present didn't change the guidelines established for the main characters. As fantastical as Francisca turned out to be, her narrative trajectory never veered off course. Prince Herneval was a creature from the immortal realm determined to save his kingdom from a sinister threat. He recruited Francisca to enter his alternate reality so she could use her writing to change fate. Even as their timelines intertwined, their motivations were anchored by the unbreakable rules of the subconscious. Earlier plot points were referenced in later scenes. Their budding relationship was articulated cohesively. Who the true savior was flipped flopped back and forth. It wasn't just stop-motion animation in effect — many other mediums were included, too. It was quite impressive how fluidly the filmmakers were able to blend them together, both visually and narratively. As a whole, I Am Frankelda was a triumph. From the first minute on, I was hooked. The themes were actually relatable and the art direction was magnificent. I'd recommend it as a relatively family-friendly movie!