Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” begins in May 1983 in a decrepit gray jail cell in Buenos Aires. For the past seven years the military junta has violently suppressed its left-wing opposition in what would later be known as the “Dirty War.” By the end of 1983 anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 people would be killed or “disappeared” due to death squads, death flights (people thrown into the Atlantic Ocean from overhead military planes) and clandestine torture operations.

The opening scenes introduce two protagonists — Valentín (Diego Luna), a cynical political prisoner and Molina (Tonatiuh), an LGBTQ+ window dresser who was arrested for his sexuality and has an obsessive appreciation for cinema. Molina’s preference for campy Hollywood Technicolor musicals compels him to recount the plot of his favorite film, “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” to his new cellmate Valentín.

“Kiss of the Spider Woman” stars Latin America’s superstar Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez) who plays both the main character Aurora and the titular Spider Woman. Aurora heads up a glossy magazine in the big city and is guarded in matters of the heart. Eventually, she finds love in Armando (Luna) but due to a curse placed upon her at birth, Aurora will have to sacrifice her beloved Armando to the lethal Spider Woman’s kiss.

The story is meta with Molina referring to “Kiss of the Spider Woman” as “too ambitious for its own good; too many flavors in the stew.” The same could be said for the movie as a whole. The film is relevant with its themes of political oppression, storytelling as resistance, human dignity, gender identity and subversive love. The script with its intricate story craft does a fine job exploring these topics by interspersing screen time between the worlds of imprisonment and fantasy. Yet, there’s something a bit hollow about Lopez’s dual performance, which does the film a disservice since it is riding on her star power.

To Lopez’s credit, most of her onscreen performance is spent singing and dancing to Sergio Trujillo’s lively choreography. Aurora isn’t a deep character per se, and her psychological motivations are filled in by Valentín and Molina’s banter in that drab cell. Lopez is stunning as a blonde bombshell outfitted in a way that’s a nod to MGM sirens from the 1940s and 1950s. Colleen Atwood’s costume design for Aurora’s gowns is dazzling, with one gold dress in a dance sequence reportedly weighing over 50 pounds.

At times Lopez’s screen time seems to rely on her beauty more so than her talent as an all-around performer. The background dancers in many of the dance numbers are more compelling than she is. This is disappointing when one thinks about her origins as a Fly Girl in “In Living Color.” It’s also important to remember she was a fly girl over 30 years ago and with this context it’s still a treat to watch her spotlighted in these fantastical musical numbers.

The star of this film is Tonatiuh as Molina. Buoyed by veteran performer Luna, Tonatiuh is convincing and captivating in his delicate portrayal of Molina; he is both a victim of indignity and a willing participant in his own humiliation. Interactions between Molina and Valentín make for a beautiful and poignant reminder about the importance of maintaining one’s dignity in the most undignified of places.

“Kiss of the Spider Woman” opens Oct. 10 in theaters nationwide.

ON THE WEB

Learn more at kissofthespiderwomanfilm.com