In a jarring blend of despair and kitsch, the golden era of the movie musical comes to the rescue of an incarcerated ‘sex offender’ during Argentina’s Dirty War.

by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Kiss of the Spider Woman is the name of the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig which was adapted into a stage musical in 1992 and is now translated into a movie directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Beauty and the Beast). The stage show was the work of John Kander and Fred Ebb, no strangers to spicing up serious material with big show stoppers (cf. Cabaret and Chicago). And so we have a film about political persecution, imprisonment, torture and gay love, all tied up in a brightly coloured golden-era musical bow. The year is 1983 in Argentina at a time when 30,000 people had disappeared under the iron glove of the country’s military dictatorship. It’s grim viewing, even with that vibrant, gaudy bow. Only this month, a new version of the musical opened at the Curve Theatre in Leicester to glowing reviews.

Largely set in the forbidding confines of a prison cell, the film tells the story of Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a flamboyant homosexual who escapes his insalubrious surroundings by living out the fanciful song-and-dance routines of the eponymous movie, starring his idol Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). His cellmate, Valentin (Diego Luna), is less sanguine, being a political activist dedicated to his dissident thoughts and a biography of Lenin. When Luis first flounces into his cloistered space, Valentin makes it known that, “if a man called me a woman, I would kill him.” But Luis will have none of it and chatters away in spite of Valentin’s sternest warnings. Eventually, the latter displays some interest in Luis’ dream world and so Luis the movie buff begins to outline the story of his favourite film…

Essentially a film within a film, the new adaptation of Puig’s tale is a problematic beast (it was previously filmed – without music – in 1985, for which William Hurt won an Oscar as Luis). As a rapport between the two prisoners develops, the grim reality of their setting is disrupted by another garish production number in which Tonatiuh and Luna stand in as the key male principals. The musical bit only really exists in Luis’ head and in spite of his chirpy delivery, the transition is jarring. Besides, the hammy plot of Luis’ beloved movie is not actually that engaging. Condon’s film is attempting to be two things at once and rather fails on both counts. Fred Zinnemann’s Oklahoma! (1953) was the first movie to really use its songs to advance the plot, and Kander and Ebb’s numbers here do little for this turgid adaptation. If anything, it makes one yearn to re-watch a bit of Astaire and Rogers, although Sergio Trujillo and Christopher Scott’s choreography certainly has its moments. However, if one wishes to immerse oneself in the true drama of the dark days of Argentina, one could do a lot worse than catch up with the Golden Globe-winning Argentina, 1985 – or Luis Puenzo’s Oscar-winning The Official Story (1985).

Cast: Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, Aline Mayagoitia.

Dir Bill Condon, Pro Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy and Greg Yolen, Ex Pro Bill Condon, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Mark Scheinberg, Dani Bernfeld, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Whitney Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Courtney Baxter, Diego Luna, D. Matt Geller, Pamela Thur, Sam Weisman, Daniel Weisman and Margaux Weisman, Screenplay Bill Condon, Ph Tobias A. Schliessler, Pro Des Scott Chambliss, Ed Brian A. Kates, Music Sam Davis, Songs: John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), Costumes Colleen Atwood and Christine L. Cantella, Sound Ruy García, Choreography Sergio Trujillo and Christopher Scott, Dialect coaches Liz Himelstein and Naomi Joy Todd.

Artists Equity/Mohari Media/Josephson Entertainment/Tom Kirdahy Productions/Nuyorican Productions-Sony Pictures.
128 mins. USA. 2025. US Rel: 10 October 2025. UK Rel: 17 April 2026. Cert. 15.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Thrash