She’s something a little strange. That’s what you notice, that she’s not a woman like all the others…Ahead of the film’s October 10th release, the latest version of Kiss of the Spider Woman has arrived, with Diego Luna, Jennifer Lopez and Tonatiuh leading the Bill Condon-directed film.
Here is the official plot of Kiss of the Spider Woman, as per Artists Equity: “Valentín (Diego Luna), a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).” The film is based on the Tony-winning stage musical, which itself was based on the novel of the same name by Manuel Puig.
Kiss of the Spider Woman had its first screen adaptation in 1985, with the film starring William Hurt as Molina, Raul Julia as Valentin and Sônia Braga as Leni Lamaison (the Lopez role). That version would be nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where Hurt won Best Actor. He would carry that over to an Oscar win in the ceremony where Kiss of the Spider Woman was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Héctor Babenco) and Best Adapted Screenplay. The three stars would also be nominated for Golden Globes.
Our own editor-in-chief Chris Bumbray caught Kiss of the Spider Woman at Sundance this year, giving it a 7/10 and concluding his review in part with, “…The power of the story, which reflects grim, real-world events, isn’t diluted…It feels fairly commercial, even if, at its soul, it is a desperately sad story that doesn’t feel far removed from events that still happen all over the world forty years after the story is set.”
Kiss of the Spider Woman is Artist Equity’s second major release of the year, following The Accountant 2. Their backed documentary The Python Hunt had its premiere at SXSW in March but has yet to have a significant release after that.
What did you think of the teaser for Kiss of the Spider Woman? Were you a fan of the original?
