"Out gay Writer/Director Bill Condon's film version of the Tony-winning musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, opening October 10 in theaters, has moments of seduction and is at times is spellbinding-most notably in the scenes between cellmates Luis Molina (out gay Tonatiuh) and Valentin (Diego Luna). The story, based on the late, great, gay Argentine writer Manuel Puig's book, shares the same DNA as the Oscar-winning 1985 film, but is very much its own version, with changes that enhance this tale of isolation and liberation,"
"As the film begins, Molina, who has been sentenced to 8 years for public indecency, enters the jail cell of a political prisoner, Valentin. (In the musical, Valentin enters Molina's cell; in the film, they are already cellmates.) Whereas Molina is chatty, and wants to talk, Valentin is more interested in silence; he reads a biography of Lenin to pass the time."
"The film-within-the-film is meant to be pure escapism. Whereas the original film featured a Nazi propaganda movie, this Kiss showcases a technicolor musical featuring Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez) as Aurora, a woman caught in a web of love and betrayal. Her story mirrors what is happening in the jail cell, which is less subtle and arguably more effective. The male actors, Tonatiuh and Luna, both play double roles as Aurora's executive assistant and lover, respectively, in the vivid color scenes."
The film places the story in an Argentine prison in 1983 amid the Dirty War, tightening the political stakes and amplifying the final sequence. Molina, serving eight years for public indecency, and political prisoner Valentin form a bond as Molina recounts his favorite movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman, to Valentin. The internal technicolor musical starring Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez) serves as escapism and mirrors the jail-cell dynamics, with the two male leads doubling as characters within those fantasies. Performances between Molina and Valentin are particularly spellbinding, while the staged musical numbers and some elements are less effective.
Read at San Francisco Bay Times
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