Stage musicals being reimagined for the screen is a tale as old as time.  While this may not be a popular genre for most theatergoers, Kiss of the Spider Woman is able to tell a story that touches everyone.  With equal parts camp and tragedy, it honors and adapts its source material that makes it perfect for the medium of film.

When a new movie musical is announced, reception is usually met with reluctance.  Those who are musical theater fans will probably sing its praises with nervous anticipation, but most people are not eager to see people singing and dancing for two hours.  There are plenty of successes – both with accolades and box office performance – but there has not been a true golden age of movie musicals since the 50s and 60s.  Kiss of the Spider Woman should be considered among the greats because it is able to keep the charm of its musical sequences while also telling a deeply moving tale about the importance of escapism through storytelling.

Taking place in Argentina during the military dictatorship known as the “Dirty War”, Luis Molina (Tonatiuh) is arrested for public indecency with a man and forced to share a cell with a political revolutionary named Valentin (Diego Luna).  To pass the time, Molina tells Valentin the plot of his favorite movie “The Kiss of the Spider Woman” starring Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez) as Aurora.  While Valentin originally finds musicals pointless compared to what is going on in their country, both men find solace in having a story to escape to.  The movie interludes are able to explain what we are seeing take place throughout the film, even up until both of their beautifully haunting ends.

One thing I love about any art form is its ability for you to learn about important historical events you may be unaware of and get you curious about what was taking place.  Some of my favorite musicals are ones based on historical events – like Parade, Come From Away, and Hamilton.  Even if they are not the most historically accurate, they intrigued me enough to start looking deeper into all of the details.  I had the same experience when I first learned about Kiss of the Spider Woman. The Dirty War took place in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 with the sole focus of taking out anyone who went against the National Reorganization Process.  Even though the military would claim their targets were only political revolutionaries, many students, journalists, artists, and left-leaning individuals were killed or disappeared.  The film is able to start and end with statistics that resulted from this campaign while focusing on two victims of this regime.  Art is important when telling stories of all kinds, and those that inspire you to learn more leave a greater impact.

Even if you are not a fan of musicals, everyone can find a way to connect to the theme of Kiss of the Spider Woman – storytelling as a means of escapism.  Argentinians of all kinds were living in turmoil and sometimes the only thing you can do is escape to a new world.  Molina is able to do this easily, as the main driver of the film is him recounting the plot of his favorite movie to Valentin.  He is able to do this so well that he replaces the actors of the film with himself and Valentin.  Malino imagines a better world for them outside of the jail cell they are currently in.  At first, Valentin finds this ridiculous and stupid; there are more important things to worry about than a movie.  But when Valentin is subjected to torture and poisining from the guards, he begs Molina to continue through the plot because he now understands what it means to be able to escape.  The movie’s world is better than their own, and finding comfort in that is what helps both of them survive day in and day out.

To help tell the difference between the jail cell and musical scenes, Bill Condon – the writer and director – leans into color.  The jail cell is dark and gritty with very little color only coming from some of Molina’s clothing.  When we jump into the world of the movie “The Kiss of the Spider Woman”, everything changes into a bright and vibrant color scheme.  Lopez is draped and surrounded by warm red and yellows either in her outfits or the sets her character is acting on.  She begins to wear more dark colors when the story of her film starts to look similar to what is happening in the real world.  It is a simple yet effective way to guide the audience into and out of the fantasy world.

The filmmakers are also not afraid to enhance the campy feeling musicals tend to give off when Molina explains the plot.  Instead of trying to make the movie moments too serious or too grounded in reality, Condon is able to enhance the experience and make it overly goofy, the way it is supposed to be felt.  When Molina has his musical moments in the real world, they are taken seriously because we are no longer within the realm of the movie musical.  This balance is what adds to the soul of what the film is supposed to be.

Each of the three main stars are able to bring their all for what the roles require.  Lopez is able to steal every scene that she is in.  Even though we mostly see her in the context of her musical numbers in the in-universe movie, she is able to show us the triple threat she is.  With wonderful over-the-top dramatic acting, beautiful vocal performances and dance sequences only she could pull off, Lopez proves she is the Spider Woman.  Luna perfectly portrays the secluded revolutionary who has a wall that’s hard to break down.  But over time as his friendship with Molina grows, he is able to open up, leaving you with a soft tenderness that is hard for you to forget about.  But the standout is Tonatiuh as Molina.  I was not familiar with his work before this film, but now I will be closely following his career.  He plays the stereotypical gay man with a strong softness to him, where he has to put up a front but also cares for those around him.  Every scene he is in he gives it his all, keeping you on your toes as to how he will react to his situation.  Tonatiuh was born to play this role and is not afraid to give you everything in him to perfect it.   

If you are not a fan of movie musicals, I would still give this one a chance.  It does not focus solely on the musical numbers but rather the story behind the importance of escapism and why we have art.  The ending is different from the original stage production with fewer songs, but the way everything was changed made sense for a screen production.  During a time like this, there is no more important movie musical that you should be seeing.

Grade: A-

Oscar Prospects:
Likely: Best Costume Design
Should Be Considered: Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lopez), Best Lead Actor (Tonatiuh), Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Cinematography          
Where to Watch: In Theaters