Lights. Camera. Action. Prepare to be dazzled, charmed and transported into the lost era of old-Hollywood’s grace and elegance mixed with Latin American music, dance and rich colours. Based on the acclaimed novel by Manuel Puig and Tony-award winning musical by Terrance McNally, Kiss of the Spider Woman features Jennifer Lopez as Ingrid Luna, the star of the musical world. Yet, you should also have tissues close at hand, as it is not the charming aesthetic that takes centre stage here, no, it is the Argentinian Dirty War that unfolds as the backdrop to this movie.
Watching the trailer, you are left wondering what to expect? Are the men in the dull, grey prison the same men in the colourful musical world? It is hard to get into the movie at first, when you are plunged into the cold and depressing years of Argentina’s dirty war, when the military junta had over 30 000 of their people killed. No mention of music, just two men, leftist Valentin and homosexual Molina, who start sharing a cell together. The story follows their imprisonment and subsequent rapprochement, as Molina tries to cheer up Valentin by retelling one of Latin America’s most beloved musicals: Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Set partly in the jail where the movie is recounted, and partly in the Spider Woman’s universe, we oscillate between vibrant colours and costumes, beautiful and happy people as an escape from the mundane and violent world where the main characters are trapped. To make the movie more interesting, and since we are recalling the musical through the unstable narration of Molina, the main characters of the movie are replaced with the prisoners. Molina becomes the star’s loyal side kick in love with her, and Valentin her love interest.
As the plot thickens and villains are introduced, Valentin’s interest in the musical grows. Both storylines become more intense, more violent and even, more romantic, as the two cellmates exchange past stories, heart brakes and even, intimate scenes. Kiss of the Spider Woman really picks up at the third half, with devastating revelation after revelation and one of the better final scenes tying “real-life” and the musical together in a neat and clever bow.
International superstar Jennifer Lopez plays actress Ingrid Luna, as Aurora, the diva and star of the musical as well as the cunning Spider Woman who reaps fear in the characters and audiences’ hearts. Jennifer was a natural in this role, a “goddess” according to Molina. Her acting was exaggerated à la Monroe, which is exactly what the role called for, and she has the natural ability of a performer to sing powerfully and dance in heels. This was the perfect role for her, but she was even more bewitching as the Spider Woman, luring men to a certain death, with moves akin to the evil Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Enchanted Flute.
Molina, played by Tonatiuh, is truly the star of the show. He is fun but also so raw in his emotions which you as the audience can feel. His voice was clear, and there is a distinction between the part he plays as Molina in jail and the love interest of Aurora in the musical. As for Luna who starred as Valentin, his gruff and tough demeanour as a repressed intellect is soon replaced by the grief and vulnerability of a lonely man, which his gentle eyes often convey.
The key to enjoying this fun movie is to remember that it is both movie and a musical. If you go in expecting a piece of cleverer and grittier cinema, it will be hard to see past the set like prison and villages, or even the theatrical acting and gestures of Molina that are more fit for broadway stage than a prison cell. The script was sometimes a bit clumsy, especially when it came to swear words inserted in what felt like a random manner, but the lyrics of the songs made up for that. Even though the music only appears later as the story in Argentina unfolds, the elements of a “good” musical are present throughout.
The costumes are more beautiful than the next, with rich fabrics in jewel tones, fascinators straight out of the 40s-50s and silk dresses bedazzled in sparkling crystals. As for the hair and makeup department, they clearly did their research, emulating the makeup of technicolor movies with caked foundation and bold red lips, as well as an incommensurable amount of hair gels to create the perfect hairdo for swing dance moves.
Kiss of the Spider Woman provides all the elements necessary to enjoy a musical, and to the very least, surpasses expectations formed after viewing the trailer. As it did for Molina and Valentin, it provides an escape into the beautiful and rich world of a musical blending the best of old Hollywood and Latin American glamour, creating a rich tapestry of dancing and signing amidst backdrops of tropical colours and rich silky dresses. Bill Condon transforming the book and musical into a movie was a welcomed addition as it added depth and complexity to the plot. The landscaped were more varied, from the streets of Buenos Aires to the rich and various backdrops of the musical world, allowing us to travel as only cinema can do. As for the music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, it is truly catchy, with the villain’s song: “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “She’s a Woman” worthy of their own karaoke solos. One of my personal favourite movies of this year, and definitely worth a watch, or a listen.