A Heartfelt Queer Musical With A Breakout Performance

Because the movies of 2024 alone have demonstrated, there’s nonetheless a superb quantity of confusion about how a film musical ought to perform in our trendy age. Even 2016’s “La La Land,” the movie that ended up bringing again the recognition of the film musical in an enormous method, wasn’t fascinated about absolutely leaning into its ode to the film musicals of traditional Hollywood, utilizing it as an alternative as a leaping off level, a wry commentary on the subgenre and cinema itself. Since then, it is felt like every new film musical has needed to discover some offbeat justification for its existence: this one is a multi-part blockbuster occasion (“Depraved”), this one is an anti-musical musical (“Emilia Pérez”), this one has a monkey in it (“Higher Man”), and so forth. Even “Chicago” director Rob Marshall, who for a few years appeared to willfully bear the torch of preserving the extra conventional film musical alive, has not too long ago been relegated to Disney sequels and live-action remakes.

Fortunately, we do not have to go far to search for one other filmmaker who’s fascinated about preserving a extra classical type of the film musical alive. Whereas somebody like Michael Gracey factors the best way to the style’s potential future, Invoice Condon continues to be round to show that the film musical is not broke, and there isn’t any want to repair it. The author of “Chicago,” co-writer of Gracey’s “The Greatest Showman,” and director of “Dreamgirls,” Condon has introduced his appreciable skills to bear on “Kiss of the Spider Lady.” With the movie, Condon appears to immediately deal with the persevering with debate about musicals generally (not simply film musicals) concerning what their tone and content material ought to be. “Spider Lady” sees Condon use the supply materials to make a movie that is concurrently lavish, frivolous leisure and a wealthy, grounded drama, with the 2 sides feeding one another as an alternative of canceling one another out. “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is a capital-M Musical, and it is one of many best examples of the shape.

“Kiss of the Spider Lady” is the most recent adaptation of the 1976 novel of the identical title by Manuel Puig, which was first become a non-musical characteristic movie in 1985 by director Héctor Babenco, starring William Damage and Raul Julia. Though that film shifted the novel’s setting of Argentina to Brazil, it retained Puig’s idea of that includes a pair (fictional) motion pictures throughout the film, and caught to the novel’s plot of two prisoners influencing one another throughout their captivity fairly intently. The 1992 musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and e book by Terrence McNally flattened the novel and movie’s magical realism considerably, making the movies-within-a-movie extra of a visualization of the prisoner’s escapist fantasies, a conceit that allowed the story to play higher on stage.

Along with his “Kiss of the Spider Lady,” Condon brings the most effective of the entire earlier variations collectively. Set within the early Eighties in Argentina throughout that nation’s Soiled Warfare, Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay convicted of misconduct with a minor, is moved into the cell of Marxist revolutionary Valentin Arregui (Diego Luna), and the 2 males could not be extra totally different at first. Molina approaches life with apolitical verve, whereas Valentin is fiercely dedicated to his chosen trigger. As a method of passing the time and discovering some sort of escape from their bleak and humdrum day by day life in jail, Molina begins recounting one among his favourite motion pictures to Valentin, a tacky Fifties musical entitled “Kiss of the Spider Lady,” starring his favourite traditional Hollywood star, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). As the federal government officers start to torture Valentin and manipulate Molina with the intention to get hold of extra details about the underground resistance motion Valentin belongs to, Molina’s retelling of the movie more and more begins to tackle a resemblance to his and Valentin’s numerous predicaments.

From that description, one may assume that the movie’s musical numbers are relegated to the movie-within-a-movie, however Condon can be riffing on the identical conceit he utilized in “Chicago,” the place some musical numbers additionally happen within the “actual” world as a part of Molina’s fantasies, an thought nearer to the stage model of “Spider Lady.” It is a reasonably ingenious selection, because it permits for the musical numbers to have as a lot extravagance and glitz as doable with out ever undercutting or trivializing the drama on the core of the movie. Although Condon’s aesthetic and compositional decisions are fairly rote — traditional Hollywood staging for the movie-within-a-movie and fantasy sequences, hand-held immediacy for the “actual world” materials — the mix works, with the distinction between the types solely rising one’s appreciation for each.

With the best way that “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is structured, there are a minimum of two (if not three) separate realms with their very own plotlines, and variations of the three important characters seem in every. Because of this the three leads have their work reduce out for them by way of delineating their numerous characters (or a minimum of numerous variations of the identical character), and Lopez, Luna, and Tonatiuh all ship on that entrance. Of the three, Luna is essentially the most unsurprisingly dependable, capable of slide effortlessly from his suave macho hero within the ’50s world to his ’80s machismo-poisoned revolutionary prisoner, and whereas he might not be essentially the most highly effective singer, he carries himself off effectively. Lopez, against this, reliably brings her acumen for singing and dancing to her position, although her popstar type sometimes grates in opposition to Kander and Ebb’s demanding, labyrinthine vocal melodies. The place Lopez excels is in subtly emulating the melodrama of the ’50s B-movie and Hollywood musical; there is a deliciously distinct distinction between her “important” character of Aurora and the Spider Lady, and Lopez makes use of the vanity that she’s enjoying these components whereas enjoying a 3rd, unseen a part of the fictional actress (if not Molina’s model of her) as a strategy to justify her campiness.

Actually, although, the film belongs to Tonatiuh, who delivers a efficiency that is staggeringly heartfelt. William Damage’s Molina was a visibly tortured soul within the ’85 movie, a person caught between his feelings and his widespread sense. Tonatiuh’s Molina is extra of a pure hearted individual, an open wound who can not help however consider in love even when issues are at their darkest. There is a world of distinction between Tonatiuh’s craving as Molina and his arch deviousness as a personality within the “Spider Lady” film, however by means of all of it, the actor has an plain magnetism that is completely riveting. It is a good factor that “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is actually constructed round him, as a result of with out his work, it might be a a lot lesser movie.

What Condon has executed with “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is fairly outstanding, contemplating how simply it may’ve fallen aside. It is a musical that by no means apologizes for being a musical. It is a heavy-handed political drama which by no means feels preachy. It is an unabashedly queer movie which makes its statements about queerness and gender with out ever appearing prefer it’s being profound or revolutionary. For the entire film’s measurement and scope, it feels surprisingly unadorned.

That is probably on account of how Condon approaches the fabric with such trustworthy affection. The person who started his profession co-writing “Unusual Habits” and directing “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” clearly has an affinity for style movies, which may be seen in all the things from the “She”-like depiction of the Spider Lady to the best way one musical quantity immediately emulates the dream ballet from “The Band Wagon.” As such, he innately understands how style can reinforce grounded themes reasonably than distract from or trivialize them. Like the most effective filmmakers, Condon hasn’t made a film which requires you to already love the issues he does, however as an alternative interprets that like to as huge a bunch of individuals as doable. 

“Kiss of the Spider Lady,” at its core, is a narrative about love’s capacity to transcend gender, politics, dying, and even actuality. In any case, do not most of us get caught up within the feelings between fictional folks? It is the entire purpose we’re followers of cinema. Sure, the films may be an escape, however they can be a instrument, a supply system that may be a drive for good. “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is an enormous kiss of a film, one so genuinely loving that it is onerous to not swoon.

/Movie Ranking: 9 out of 10

“Kiss of the Spider Lady” premiered on the 2025 Sundance Movie Pageant. It doesn’t have an official launch date but.

Because the movies of 2024 alone have demonstrated, there’s nonetheless a superb quantity of confusion about how a film musical ought to perform in our trendy age. Even 2016’s “La La Land,” the movie that ended up bringing again the recognition of the film musical in an enormous method, wasn’t fascinated about absolutely leaning into its ode to the film musicals of traditional Hollywood, utilizing it as an alternative as a leaping off level, a wry commentary on the subgenre and cinema itself. Since then, it is felt like every new film musical has needed to discover some offbeat justification for its existence: this one is a multi-part blockbuster occasion (“Depraved”), this one is an anti-musical musical (“Emilia Pérez”), this one has a monkey in it (“Higher Man”), and so forth. Even “Chicago” director Rob Marshall, who for a few years appeared to willfully bear the torch of preserving the extra conventional film musical alive, has not too long ago been relegated to Disney sequels and live-action remakes.

Fortunately, we do not have to go far to search for one other filmmaker who’s fascinated about preserving a extra classical type of the film musical alive. Whereas somebody like Michael Gracey factors the best way to the style’s potential future, Invoice Condon continues to be round to show that the film musical is not broke, and there isn’t any want to repair it. The author of “Chicago,” co-writer of Gracey’s “The Greatest Showman,” and director of “Dreamgirls,” Condon has introduced his appreciable skills to bear on “Kiss of the Spider Lady.” With the movie, Condon appears to immediately deal with the persevering with debate about musicals generally (not simply film musicals) concerning what their tone and content material ought to be. “Spider Lady” sees Condon use the supply materials to make a movie that is concurrently lavish, frivolous leisure and a wealthy, grounded drama, with the 2 sides feeding one another as an alternative of canceling one another out. “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is a capital-M Musical, and it is one of many best examples of the shape.

“Kiss of the Spider Lady” is the most recent adaptation of the 1976 novel of the identical title by Manuel Puig, which was first become a non-musical characteristic movie in 1985 by director Héctor Babenco, starring William Damage and Raul Julia. Though that film shifted the novel’s setting of Argentina to Brazil, it retained Puig’s idea of that includes a pair (fictional) motion pictures throughout the film, and caught to the novel’s plot of two prisoners influencing one another throughout their captivity fairly intently. The 1992 musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and e book by Terrence McNally flattened the novel and movie’s magical realism considerably, making the movies-within-a-movie extra of a visualization of the prisoner’s escapist fantasies, a conceit that allowed the story to play higher on stage.

Along with his “Kiss of the Spider Lady,” Condon brings the most effective of the entire earlier variations collectively. Set within the early Eighties in Argentina throughout that nation’s Soiled Warfare, Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay convicted of misconduct with a minor, is moved into the cell of Marxist revolutionary Valentin Arregui (Diego Luna), and the 2 males could not be extra totally different at first. Molina approaches life with apolitical verve, whereas Valentin is fiercely dedicated to his chosen trigger. As a method of passing the time and discovering some sort of escape from their bleak and humdrum day by day life in jail, Molina begins recounting one among his favourite motion pictures to Valentin, a tacky Fifties musical entitled “Kiss of the Spider Lady,” starring his favourite traditional Hollywood star, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). As the federal government officers start to torture Valentin and manipulate Molina with the intention to get hold of extra details about the underground resistance motion Valentin belongs to, Molina’s retelling of the movie more and more begins to tackle a resemblance to his and Valentin’s numerous predicaments.

From that description, one may assume that the movie’s musical numbers are relegated to the movie-within-a-movie, however Condon can be riffing on the identical conceit he utilized in “Chicago,” the place some musical numbers additionally happen within the “actual” world as a part of Molina’s fantasies, an thought nearer to the stage model of “Spider Lady.” It is a reasonably ingenious selection, because it permits for the musical numbers to have as a lot extravagance and glitz as doable with out ever undercutting or trivializing the drama on the core of the movie. Although Condon’s aesthetic and compositional decisions are fairly rote — traditional Hollywood staging for the movie-within-a-movie and fantasy sequences, hand-held immediacy for the “actual world” materials — the mix works, with the distinction between the types solely rising one’s appreciation for each.

With the best way that “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is structured, there are a minimum of two (if not three) separate realms with their very own plotlines, and variations of the three important characters seem in every. Because of this the three leads have their work reduce out for them by way of delineating their numerous characters (or a minimum of numerous variations of the identical character), and Lopez, Luna, and Tonatiuh all ship on that entrance. Of the three, Luna is essentially the most unsurprisingly dependable, capable of slide effortlessly from his suave macho hero within the ’50s world to his ’80s machismo-poisoned revolutionary prisoner, and whereas he might not be essentially the most highly effective singer, he carries himself off effectively. Lopez, against this, reliably brings her acumen for singing and dancing to her position, although her popstar type sometimes grates in opposition to Kander and Ebb’s demanding, labyrinthine vocal melodies. The place Lopez excels is in subtly emulating the melodrama of the ’50s B-movie and Hollywood musical; there is a deliciously distinct distinction between her “important” character of Aurora and the Spider Lady, and Lopez makes use of the vanity that she’s enjoying these components whereas enjoying a 3rd, unseen a part of the fictional actress (if not Molina’s model of her) as a strategy to justify her campiness.

Actually, although, the film belongs to Tonatiuh, who delivers a efficiency that is staggeringly heartfelt. William Damage’s Molina was a visibly tortured soul within the ’85 movie, a person caught between his feelings and his widespread sense. Tonatiuh’s Molina is extra of a pure hearted individual, an open wound who can not help however consider in love even when issues are at their darkest. There is a world of distinction between Tonatiuh’s craving as Molina and his arch deviousness as a personality within the “Spider Lady” film, however by means of all of it, the actor has an plain magnetism that is completely riveting. It is a good factor that “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is actually constructed round him, as a result of with out his work, it might be a a lot lesser movie.

What Condon has executed with “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is fairly outstanding, contemplating how simply it may’ve fallen aside. It is a musical that by no means apologizes for being a musical. It is a heavy-handed political drama which by no means feels preachy. It is an unabashedly queer movie which makes its statements about queerness and gender with out ever appearing prefer it’s being profound or revolutionary. For the entire film’s measurement and scope, it feels surprisingly unadorned.

That is probably on account of how Condon approaches the fabric with such trustworthy affection. The person who started his profession co-writing “Unusual Habits” and directing “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” clearly has an affinity for style movies, which may be seen in all the things from the “She”-like depiction of the Spider Lady to the best way one musical quantity immediately emulates the dream ballet from “The Band Wagon.” As such, he innately understands how style can reinforce grounded themes reasonably than distract from or trivialize them. Like the most effective filmmakers, Condon hasn’t made a film which requires you to already love the issues he does, however as an alternative interprets that like to as huge a bunch of individuals as doable. 

“Kiss of the Spider Lady,” at its core, is a narrative about love’s capacity to transcend gender, politics, dying, and even actuality. In any case, do not most of us get caught up within the feelings between fictional folks? It is the entire purpose we’re followers of cinema. Sure, the films may be an escape, however they can be a instrument, a supply system that may be a drive for good. “Kiss of the Spider Lady” is an enormous kiss of a film, one so genuinely loving that it is onerous to not swoon.

/Movie Ranking: 9 out of 10

“Kiss of the Spider Lady” premiered on the 2025 Sundance Movie Pageant. It doesn’t have an official launch date but.