An encompassing portrait...

| Jan 22, 2024

It is this strength and beauty that drew people to her, and it is the heart of the documentary.

| Aug 17, 2021

The testimonies are as powerful as her songs, showing how the stage was the only place where she could really express herself [Full Review in Spanish]

| Nov 8, 2020

Its the filmmakers' access to her and the people most important to her that make Chavela the film an intimate, thoughtful portrait of a life well lived, a touching homage to a legend that can-and does-hold her own next to [Edith] Piaf any day.

| May 28, 2019

Watching Chavela Vargas sing is like watching rain clouds gather against a hill; she appears onstage, takes to the mic, and sings in her husky tenor. The pain in her songs plays out through the twitch of an eyebrow...

| Jan 8, 2019

An affectionate but rudimentary documentary introduction to Chavela Vargas.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 29, 2018

Chavela is a film about the power of one woman's music that is every bit as emotional as the songs she made legendary. You definitely won't forget the name Chavela Vargas after watching this.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 8, 2018

Chavela is a film that must be seen. [Full review in Spanish]

| Aug 7, 2018

Conventional but effective documentary about Chavela Vargas. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 2.4/4 | Aug 6, 2018

A careful and, at times vulnerable, documentary about an extraordinary and mythic singer. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 12, 2018

Australian Catherine Gund and American Daresha Kyi cover [Chavela Vargas'] fascinating story from beginning to end. [Full review in Spanish]

| Jun 7, 2018

The music in Chavela shows us that the folklore always exists and it is part of our days. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 5, 2018

Chavela manages to make its titular subject personable and accessible for newcomers, all the while providing a bittersweet love letter which all fans can appreciate.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 26, 2018

A powerful film that will leave your heart ravenous and your mind full of ideas, like the best of Chavela's songs. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 14, 2018

A serial seducer of women, she had a relationship with artist Frida Kahlo, and a one-night stand with Ava Gardner. Kyi's film does an effective job of showing how Chavela's life was as intense as her music.

| Dec 8, 2017

The late Chavela Vargas, a sad and fiery legend of Latin American song, is the subject of an adoring portrait as straightforward as its title, Chavela.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 8, 2017

What a wonderful and worthy tribute to a woman who led such a fascinating life.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 7, 2017

By the end, the filmmakers have painted a portrait of a uniquely passionate artist, beloved by audiences in both her home country and Spain, where Pedro Almodvar figures prominently in her story.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 7, 2017

Still, the film is an eye-opening primer on an intoxicating performer about whom too little is known.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 22, 2017

The valuable and courageous etching of a figure that, as Dylan's Bono said, had much more than three chords and the truth. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 14, 2017