by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
During the Argentinian revolution, a political prisoner shares a cell with a man convicted of public indecency. To spend the time, the man recounts the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Valentin is a political prisoner, unjustly incarcerated by a regime desperate for information about his revolutionary comrades. As part of their interrogation strategy, the authorities assign him a cellmate: Molina, who has been instructed to coax these secrets from him. To break down Valentin’s defenses, Molina begins to share the story of his favorite film. What begins as mere manipulation soon evolves into something deeper, as Molina and Valentin form an unexpected bond. The question lingers: will the government ultimately get what it wants?
Written and directed by Bill Condon (Chicago, Dreamgirls), this reimagining of Kiss of the Spider Woman revisits the 1985 film adaptation of Terrence McNally’s stage play, itself drawn from Manuel Puig’s celebrated novel. This new version stars Diego Luna as Valentin, Tonatiuh as Molina, Bruno Bichir, and Jennifer Lopez as the luminous anchor of the film’s dream sequences.
For Molina, storytelling becomes a form of survival, a way to escape the suffocating confines of prison life, while also transporting Valentin, if only briefly, to another world. Condon seizes on this opportunity to bring the audience into that parallel reality, where Jennifer Lopez dazzles as Ingrid Luna, a glamorous movie star drifting through Hollywood in search of genuine love. Lopez captivates through song, dance, and elegantly crafted costumes, her sparkling presence embodying a fantasy that starkly contrasts with the bleak isolation of the prison. Condon saturates Ingrid’s world with lush colors and beauty, allowing the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality to resonate powerfully.
At its core, Kiss of the Spider Woman is a story that moves between two realms, gritty confinement and shimmering fantasy, yet its heart beats around a single theme: love. In the shared recognition of their mutual humanity, Molina and Valentin transcend their circumstances, learning to care for one another in the unlikeliest of places. This message feels urgent and universal, a reminder of empathy’s necessity in our own fractured times.
Yet, despite these compelling thematic layers, Condon’s direction sometimes falters. While his dreamscapes are vibrant and intoxicating, he lingers too heavily on the grim aspects of the prison world. Darkness and filth permeate the cell, as they must, but certain scenes drive this reality home with such blunt force that they feel overcalculated. What is missing is a sense of subtlety, a gentler hand that might have allowed the intimacy of Valentin and Molina’s connection to shine through without distraction. Instead, moments meant to evoke empathy and fragility occasionally collapse under the weight of their own severity, leaving the audience more wearied than moved.
Rated R for language, sexual content, and some violence, Kiss of the Spider Woman is an ambitious work that lingers in its shadows and never fully embraces its glamour. Its idealistic symbolism feels squandered and lost in translation, perhaps never escaping at all.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is in theaters on October 10, 2025.
Grade: C-