Kiss of the Spider Woman

I'm intrigued that Bill Condon has chosen to remake "Kiss of the Spider Woman" as a musical. Based on a Manuel Puig novel, the story focuses on two men imprisoned under Brazil's 1970s military dictatorship: Valentin, a leftist suspected of seeking to overthrow the junta, and Molina, a gay man held because of his sexuality. The narrative contrasts the characters shared plight with their sharply opposed attitudes toward power, and with the evolving hopes and stories that keep them going. Director Eduardo Barreto's 1985 adaptation garnered high praise, as did stars William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sonia Braga. The film is a harrowing exploration of oppression which subtly pressed 1980s Western audiences about the brutal authoritarian regimes our governments backed for the sake of anticommunism, about the marginalization of both egalitarian politics and gay people throughout the world. Yet, the cellmates aren't given a free pass: They waver between selfishness and solidarity. Just when you think you've figured them out, they take a turn. Forty years later, the story seems roughly the same, but our context has changed. Today, Condon's KOTSW remake is being released into a U. S. A. That's taking its own authoritarian turn. The government isn't a military dictatorship, but the president rules by decree, defies the courts, disappears thousands of civilians daily to prison camps, and floods the streets with troops at the slightest pretext. Fittingly, Andor star Diego Luna takes over Raul Julia's role as the revolutionary Valentin.

Just got out of the first screening for this film at Sundance 2025. I am beyond blown away, the film is such a beautiful rendition of a familiar story, the cinemetography is so grand and upscale and are matched by grand and terrific performances by the films cast but the real start of this film of course is Jennifer Lopez. The choreography, the singing and the character work here is splended. I anticipate this will very likely garner her a 3rd Golden Globe nomination (Hopefully Win!) and hopefully her first Oscar Nomination. After the tumultuous and very forced hate train of last year (Which was clearly orchestrated and manufactured) Jennifer Lopez deserves to have the praise she will without a doubt receive from this role. Bravo!

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

The original "Kiss of the Spider Woman" from 1985 is pretty good, while it does have it's fault, it's an ambitious tale of romance, politics, and meta-fiction. Based on the musical version of "Kiss of the Spider Woman", this adaptation is a mixed bag for me. I appreciate several aspects as the camerawork, the production designs, and a new direction approach from Bill Condon does offer a grand and new upscale vision of the source material. Orchestrated with some interesting musical numbers and score compositions throughout.

The performances are mostly solid as they are able to offer their emotions and attachments. What makes this not fully work is due to it's narrative being uneven with how it wants to approach it's themes and the characters, unlike the original movie (yes, I understand it is based on the musical adaptation and it's different), felt lacking with any emotional connections. Condon direction seems to struggle with certain aspects that don't feel fully balanced and ends up feeling more unstable and unmemorable.

Despite good musical score, some of the musical lyrics don't really hit a punch. Many aspects are too recapture the period times of musical eras and while I do appreciate the new approach, it doesn't feel memorable and at times, feels repetitive. Alongside with some strange dialogue choices that felt out of place.

Overall, I am left with more mixed feelings as I do love the atmosphere and the new direction it takes, but it's uneven narrative and lack of emotional connection doesn't work for me.

What a fantastic adaptation, great justice to the novel, the musical and the original film! Stellar costumes, direction and editing! Golden age of Hollywood level! Insane dancing from the cast and surprising vocal performance from Lopez (the best I've heard her sound). Diego Luna shines in a new light and. Tonatiuh Elizarraraz is a revelation! So thrilling to watch yet makes you think deeper for important questions in life. I would love to see this revived on Broadway! Can't wait for Condon's next projects! The room was packed and it received a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival! So grateful to be there, I hope it gets a wide proper release cause this can be a box office smash hit!

Musicals seem to be having a moment. And not a good one. WICKED (2024) was a slog. Then we had the mediocre BETTER MAN and the skin-crawling JOKER 2. The new KISS OF THE SPIDER-WOMAN is a adaptation of the Broadway musical, itself an adaptation of the gritty Manuel Puig novel. A film about how to survive mentally during oppression and fascism would be welcome now. But this is another "Give me an Oscar, dammit!" plea from JLo. She'll probably get it, since you can assault people at the Academy Awards and still get lauded.

You might think JLo would make a decent Ingrid Luna/Spider-Woman. Her character here is pastiche, which frankly has been the singer-dancer's entire career. But Lopez is so much more a celebrity than an actress that you never forget it's her.

Valentín (Diego Luna) is good as the political prisoner Valentín, who shares a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), who is a little one note as a window dresser convicted of public indecency.

This film really needed to lean in to the horrors of what was going on in the world outside the prison. That's what we need now. Not another middling musical.

Any fans of the Broadway show should note that many of the songs from the musical have been cut (wonder why?), and the only songs there are take place in the fantasy sequences.