It seems dreams can still come true. Director Bill Condon’s stunning big-screen adaptation of Terrence McNally, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 1992 film had a huge “Hot Ticket” screening Sunday night in Park City, Utah. The long-awaited “Kiss of the Spider Woman” had its world premiere. Broadway musical of the same name (based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel of the same name). The story of two Argentine prisoners of war recruited during the “Dirty War” was made into a feature film in 1995 starring William Hurt, Raul Julia and Sonia Braga, but Condon’s film is the first of its kind. It will be a big screen musical. Rotate the original material.
And for star Jennifer Lopez, her first musical appearance was the culmination of a decades-long dream, if you can believe it. The film stars breakout star Tonatiu as Luis Molina, a flashy young Argentine who dreams of becoming a woman someday after being thrown into prison for inappropriate behavior with another man, and played by Diego Luna. will play political prisoner Valentin Aregui (Molina was initially withheld). The film debuted at the Eccles Theater, where it received a huge round of applause during the screening and a standing ovation after the screening. Afterward, a visibly moved and tearful Lopez took to the stage with Condon and Tonatiu and chatted with festival director Eugene Hernandez.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” Lopez said, her voice choking. “The reason I wanted to be in this industry is because my mom would sit me in front of the TV and every Thanksgiving they would show[West Side Story]. I was fascinated and thought, “This is what I want to do.” That’s always been my goal, but this is the first time I’ve actually been able to achieve it. This person made my dream come true. ”
In the film, Molina tries to bond with the quiet Valentin by introducing him to his favorite movie (the titular Kiss of the Spider-Woman) and screen siren Ingrid, who stars in this dazzling musical. Let’s talk about Luna (Lopez). So he was hooked. While Molina shares vivid memories of the film, Lopez (and Luna and Tonatiu in other roles) plays Ingrid, who plays Aurora, a fun movie character in a fake movie. (All of this meta-entertainment makes sense in context, we promise.) So Condon’s film is as much a full-blooded Technicolor musical as it is a gritty prison drama.
IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio wrote in his review of the film: “There aren’t that many true divas left in the world, so López, an American-born Latina who is skilled at transforming into any role that requires singing and dancing, is perhaps the epitome of a diva.”Ingrid at the moment -The only person to play Luna. Ingrid is meant to be a star of ethereal proportions, perhaps existing only in our dreams. Lopez is one of those stars who hovers on the edge of the earth, rarely coming down (even her brightest performance, “Hustlers,” where she plays a veteran stripper who mentors ingenuity in a fur coat) She is a bit out of reach).
Regarding the film’s message, Lopez later added: “Love can narrow the gap between people. We see each other not just as individuals, as people, as human beings, and we don’t know who we like, who we don’t like, what our political beliefs are. You don’t have to worry about it. It doesn’t matter. There’s another human being on the other side, and you’ll find common ground with them. You’re both human, you both have hearts. That’s what happened to me when I read this movie. That’s very important and why I wanted to be a part of this film.”
Kiss of the Spider Woman premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. We are currently looking for distribution in the United States.
