Kiss of the Spider Woman 4K 2025 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Argentina, early 1980s. Political prisoner Valentín Arregui is placed in a cell with Luis Molina. To take his mind off things and escape the grim daily routine and torture, Molina recalls and retells the plot of the musical film "Kiss of the Spider Woman", starring his favorite movie star, Ingrid Luna. Meanwhile, a prison guard pressures Molina to extract the information he needs from Valentin in exchange for early release. The prisoners find common ground, and Luis must decide whether to help his new friend or betray him for the sake of his own freedom.

Review 4K Movie

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

The original "Kiss of the Spider Woman" from 1985 is pretty good, while it does have it's fault, it's an ambitious tale of romance, politics, and meta-fiction. Based on the musical version of "Kiss of the Spider Woman", this adaptation is a mixed bag for me. I appreciate several aspects as the camerawork, the production designs, and a new direction approach from Bill Condon does offer a grand and new upscale vision of the source material. Orchestrated with some interesting musical numbers and score compositions throughout.

The performances are mostly solid as they are able to offer their emotions and attachments. What makes this not fully work is due to it's narrative being uneven with how it wants to approach it's themes and the characters, unlike the original movie (yes, I understand it is based on the musical adaptation and it's different), felt lacking with any emotional connections. Condon direction seems to struggle with certain aspects that don't feel fully balanced and ends up feeling more unstable and unmemorable.

Despite good musical score, some of the musical lyrics don't really hit a punch. Many aspects are too recapture the period times of musical eras and while I do appreciate the new approach, it doesn't feel memorable and at times, feels repetitive. Alongside with some strange dialogue choices that felt out of place.

Overall, I am left with more mixed feelings as I do love the atmosphere and the new direction it takes, but it's uneven narrative and lack of emotional connection doesn't work for me.