Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025)
Director: Bill Condon
Screenplay: Bill Condon
Based on: Kiss of the Spider Woman by Terrence McNally, John Kander, Fred Ebb; Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig
Release dates: January 26, 2025 (Sundance); October 10, 2025 (United States)
Stars: Tonatiuh, Diego Luna, Jennifer Lopez, Tony Dovolani, Josefina Scaglione, Bruno Bichir, Aline Mayagoitia, Kevin Michael Brennan, Thomas Canestraro, Eduardo Ramos, David Turner, Odain Watson, Lynn Favin, Debra Cardona, Christian Galvis
Plot: At the tail end of the Dirty War, Luis Molina, a gay window dresser convicted of public indecency, shares the same cell as Valentin Arregui Paz, a political dissident involved with a revolutionary group. Though initially irritated by Molina’s flamboyance and chatterbox personality, Valentin agrees to let Molina tell him the plot of his favorite Hollywood silver screen musical, The Kiss of the Spider Woman.[9]
The in-universe film stars Ingrid Luna as Aurora, a successful magazine publisher; Molina’s retelling also casts himself as Kendall (Aurora’s assistant and a closeted homosexual) and Valentin as Armando (a photographer and Aurora’s love interest). Aurora and Kendall accompany Armando to shoot in his and Aurora’s home village. Aurora and Armando fall in love, but also encounter Paulina (Armando’s old flame) and Johnny Desiderio (an antagonistic gangster).
Molina is supposed to be spying on Valentin to the warden in exchange for potential parole. Despite being eager to be released from prison as his mother is ailing, Molina is hesitant to report on Valentin and continuously cares for the latter as he is tortured by the prison officers.
Molina gradually continues his retelling. Aurora learns that the village is protected from malevolent spirits by the Spider Woman in exchange for the regular sacrifice of a native woman’s lover. Aurora realizes this means Armando will be taken from her and attempts to drive him away. They reaffirm their mutual love, but Kendall betrays them to Johnny. Paulina helps the couple escape into the jungle, where they find the Spider Woman. She attempts to take Armando, but Kendall sacrifices himself instead.
As anti-government protests worsen, the warden surprises Molina by approving his parole. The prospect of being separated from each other leads Valentin and Molina to realise that they have fallen in love, and they become lovers the night before Molina is freed from prison. On the day of his release, Molina offers to contact Valentin’s group in order to pass on information from Valentin to them, and Valentin agrees. Molina then gives Valentin a red scarf and says he hopes Valentin will not forget him, and Valentin reassures him that there is no danger of that happening. The two bid each other an emotional farewell, with both of them left in tears after saying goodbye.
After his release, Molina reunites with his mother and the rest of his family. However, unbeknownst to Molina, the warden has secretly arranged to have him followed in the hope that he will lead them to Valentin’s group. After Molina has made contact with Valentin’s colleagues and passed on some information in a cinema, officers attack them, and in the ensuing escape, one of Valentin’s comrades shoots Molina. As he lays dying, he imagines himself in a dress dancing with Valentin before being welcomed by the Spider Woman. Later, Valentin learns of Molina’s death after the guards leave a newspaper report in his prison cell, and he is distraught at the news.
In October 1983, the military junta is toppled and Valentin is freed along with the other prisoners. As his fellow inmates make it outside the jail and emotionally reunite with their families and friends, Valentin kisses Molina’s red scarf and raises it up in the air, saying “We made it, my love. We made it.”
* * *
Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025) | Transcript
[soft theatrical music playing]
[female singer]
♪ Come and find me ♪
♪ Hear my song ♪
♪ Let me hold you here ♪
♪ Where you belong ♪
♪ Lips awaiting ♪
♪ Pain will cease ♪
♪ Calm your anguish ♪
♪ I can bring you peace ♪
[metal clanking]
[hinge creaks]
[cell door slams]
[alarm wailing]
[indistinct shouting, chatter]
[alarm bell ringing]
[electricity crackling]
[man screaming]
[prisoner] Who is that?
None of your business.
[prisoner] I didn’t know I’d be moved here.
The warden didn’t say anything about the political section.
[prison guard] Shut the fuck up.
Keep moving.
[man 1 yelling in Spanish]
[man 2 yelling in Spanish]
[doors open]
[doors close]
[door locking]
Hi.
My name is Luis Molina.
Serving an eight-year sentence.
Sexual offender.
Convicted of public indecency.
With a male.
In a bathroom, no less.
I don’t care what you did.
And you are?
Valentín Arregui.
Political prisoner?
That’s what they tell me.
Whatever.
I respect all ideas, as long as they respect mine.
I led a hunger strike last year.
They think I’m a bad influence.
[Luis] Uh-uh-uh. This morning, I made a resolution to only hear things that cheer me up, and hunger strikes are not on the list.
Do you mind if I cook?
[Valentín] Do what you want.
Just keep quiet.
I need silence to study.
Well, right now, there’s nothing but tea and soup because my mother’s been too sick to bring groceries or magazines.
These I know by heart.
I’m fine with the prison food.
Okay, but if you’re turning down the soup because
you have nothing to offer
Let
Let me explain.
Sometimes I might not be reading, but you’ll see that I’m silent anyway.
That’s because I’m thinking and getting ready to make notes.
So no talking when you’re reading, and no talking when you’re thinking.
Yeah.
Fine.
Marquez.
Camazon.
Rodríguez.
Zecchi.
Molina.
Hasul.
Arregui.
Dominguez.
Lopez.
[Luis] I really should’ve done this sooner.
It makes all the difference.
When I was dressing the windows at Montoya’s, I couldn’t rest until each display was perfect.
One mannequin wore a Chanel suit, and I insisted a Balenciaga silk scarf be slipped inside her purse.
“Well, nobody cares what’s inside a mannequin’s purse,” my supervisor told me.
“I do,” I said, arching one eyebrow, like Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce.
And, darling, guess what?
Balenciaga it was!
[Valentín sighs]
What are you reading?
A biography of Lenin.
Oh. Well, that sounds fun.
“The struggle is not over until all men are free.”
Who said it? Hmm?
I know. Cyd Charisse in Silk Stockings.
“The struggle is not over until all men are free.”
Even ridiculous window dressers.
Stick to the script.
Lenin didn’t say “ridiculous”.
Lenin didn’t spend three days in a cell with you.
Oh, I heard how you radicals like to take advantage of a girl down on her luck.
Guards! Guards!
He’s talking about unions!
He’s making me forget the joys of capitalism!
[prison guard]
What do you want, Molina?
[Luis] Nothing.
I was just fooling around.
I know what someone like Molina wants.
Yeah, and you’re not man enough to give it to me.
What? What did you say, you miserable little fucking…
Nothing.
Nothing, I said nothing.
You said something.
I said I’m a piece of shit.
Louder.
I said I’m a piece of shit.
Finish it, maricón.
You’re almost done.
I said I’m a faggot piece of shit, and whenever you want me, my hungry ass is yours.
Maybe later, sweetheart.
Hear that, Arregui?
Anytime you want her.
[cell doors close]
If a man called me a woman, I would kill him.
If a man called me a man, I would faint.
You are a man.
You shouldn’t let them humiliate you like that.
Honey, there are privileges in degradation.
How do you think I got this beaded curtain?
Why do you make yourself trivial?
Because I am trivial.
Only, I know it.
You and your movement are trivial, only you don’t.
Next to these gorgeous ladies, we’re all trivial.
Next to them, we don’t even exist.
Fuck off.
You’re thinking, right?
About a girl?
I bet she’s pretty.
What’s her name?
[sighs]
[indistinct chatter in Spanish]
[indistinct whispering in Spanish]
That maricón better come through.
I find you can learn everything you need to know about a person by asking one simple question: “What’s your favorite movie?”
I don’t have one.
Oh, come on.
Everyone has a favorite movie, although they usually lie about it.
Personally, I don’t trust anybody who says Raging Bull.
I mean, lighten up, Ramona.
It’s been years since I went to the movies.
Well, don’t you like to dream?
At least a little?
[Valentín] I dream with every breath I take, but not in a way you would understand.
People like you think life is one big entertainment.
If I gave you the rest of a very good milk chocolate bar, do you think you could stop saying, “People like you?”
You’re right. I’m sorry.
It’s your last piece.
[Luis] Eat it.
No, thanks.
[Luis] I can’t decide.
Are you highly principled or just plain stubborn?
Maybe just highly stubborn.
[Luis] Is that a glimmer of a sense of humor?
And I left my sunglasses in the Corniche.
I do have a woman, by the way.
I figured.
Just didn’t want you to get any ideas.
You’re not my type.
I’m looking for someone to settle down with, not storm the barricades.
Well, unlike you, I couldn’t live without movies.
After my father died, my mother had to work nights as an usherette.
And since there was no one to look after me, she took me with her and sat me in the front row.
I saw every movie over and over.
One of them, I’ll never forget.
Kiss of the Spider Woman.
[Valentín] Never heard of it.
It’s set in a mythical South American country, part Argentina, part Brazil, and 100% Hollywood.
It starred the great Ingrid Luna, known to those who worship her as simply La Luna.
Spider Woman was the first time a vehicle was created especially for her.
Now, understand, nobody claims it was the greatest movie ever made.
Too ambitious for its own good, too many flavors in the stew, but so much that’s beautiful.
Would you like to see it?
How do you propose we do that?
The best way.
I’ll tell it to you.
Unless you have somewhere else to be.
Uh-uh-uh. Too much reading will make you go blind.
You said so yourself.
Besides, it’s lights out any minute now.
What kind of movie is it?
[Luis] A musical, of course.
And if I have to explain the “of course,” I might as well just end it all right now.
I hate musicals.
And I pity you.
I’m sorry to break the news, but nobody sings in real life.
Well, maybe they should.
Now shut up and listen.
There go the lights.
The curtain opens.
It’s in glorious technicolor.
They drenched the screen with extra reds and golds for this one.
It almost hurts to look at it.
[singers] ♪ Her name is Aurora ♪
♪ And she is so beautiful ♪
♪ No man can resist her ♪
♪ And those
Who have kissed her ♪
♪ Are madly in love ♪
♪ Forever in love ♪
[dramatic music playing]
Wait. You throw us right in.
We know nothing about the story or the characters.
Well, it’s a musical.
There’s not a lot to know.
But you’re right.
I got so excited, I skipped over the opening crawl, which establishes that Aurora is the successful editor of Charm, South America’s most famous fashion magazine.
It’s the way she sits that kills me every time.
The perfect fullness of her figure.
Tiny waist and rounded hips.
Her legs flushed and silky, even without stockings.
Please. No erotic descriptions.
And now, wrapped in the simplest sort of silk robe… the goddess moves into the bedroom.
Kendall, you’re late.
I need you to help me choose a dress for the gala.
Kendall Nesbit is Aurora’s executive assistant and best friend.
His devotion to her is absolute.
He lives for her and through her.
In other words, Kendall Nesbit is a homosexual.
Of course, they never come out and say it.
So?
Well, the actor who played him was the biggest queen this side of Danny Kaye.
But he lived with his mother and was terrified that, if he portrayed the role as it was written, she’d figure it out.
So he butched it up and killed all the joy in the part.
Now if you don’t mind, I’ll describe the Kendall Nesbit of my dreams instead of the disappointing reality.
Kendall, you’re late.
I need you to help me choose a dress for the gala.
♪ What shall I wear tonight? ♪
♪ Haven’t a clue ♪
♪ Maybe the silk Chanel ♪
♪ Silvery blue? ♪
You need to choose more than a dress, my dear.
What do you mean?
“A woman cannot know what to wear until she knows for whom she is wearing it.”
Ugh. The things I say for money.
For ten years, you’ve unveiled the winter cover without a man by your side.
Your readers are starting to wonder if something’s wrong.
♪ Who will your partner be? ♪
♪ Maybe Raul? ♪
Uh-uh.
♪ Maybe Manuel? ♪
God, no.
♪ Maybe Roberto? ♪
♪ So they want to know ♪
♪ Who is my beau ♪
My readers don’t want to share me.
Besides, I have you.
♪ Oh, I will dance alone ♪
♪ Until I dance
with the man of my dreams ♪
♪ I will dance alone ♪
♪ As absurd
as it probably seems ♪
♪ Until I dance
with the love of my life ♪
♪ The man who will call me
his own ♪
♪ Until I dance
with the love of my life ♪
♪ Don’t offer me partners ♪
♪ A chorus of strangers ♪
♪ I’ll dance alone ♪
[upbeat music playing]
[Valentín] So she’s frigid.
What?
She has a crippling fear of physical intimacy.
Most likely, she acquired a sense of shame around sex in early childhood, and trying to control her prohibited desires as an adult has made her incapable of enjoying a good fuck.
Well, excuse you.
Aurora is particular, that’s all.
Yeah.
She has high standards.
Okay.
Impeccable taste.
Whatever.
If you’re gonna make fun, I won’t go on.
This is a work of art.
It means a lot to me.
[Valentín] So, am I supposed to just sit around and listen?
I can’t comment?
Exactly.
Because that’s what people do when they watch a movie.
[Valentín] All right.
I’ll be quiet.
[water splashes]
Now, I will admit, Aurora has been seeing a psychiatrist.
And he suspects that her inability to commit to a man is somehow connected to a suppressed memory and the mysterious musical theme that haunts her dreams.
The doctor urges her to be more open to her desires.
[jazz music playing]
[Luis]
Aurora still isn’t convinced, until she visits a tarot card reader who gives her the same advice.
♪ Last night,
I went to see the gypsy ♪
[photographer] Over here.
[photographer 2] Thank you.
♪ And, oh,
the things she had to say ♪
♪ She told me
I would meet a stranger ♪
♪ A lean, handsome hero ♪
♪ Who’d sweep in
and sweep me away ♪
♪ I sat there
trembling at her table ♪
♪ And smelled the incense
in the air ♪
♪ “Someday,
you’ll hear a cry” ♪
♪ She told me ♪
♪ “A sharp, piercing sound ♪
♪ And when you look around ♪
♪ The love of your life ♪
♪ Will be there” ♪
[Aurora] Hmm.
[jazz music continues]
[Aurora laughs]
[Luis] Aurora dances with a dozen men, but is interested in none.
[both laugh]
[gasps]
[Luis] Enter Armando, the greatest photographer in South America, a true artist.
Aurora has hired him to shoot the winter issue, but they haven’t met until this moment.
Let me guess.
This photographer is not just a genius.
He’s tall, dark, and handsome.
Of course.
[scoffs, laughs]
That’s his real talent.
Oh, no.
He sings and dances too.
Oh.
Ridiculous.
Hmm. If only you could see him the way I do.
[jazz music playing]
♪ “I cannot tell you
how you’ll meet him ♪
♪ Or when you’ll meet
your love or where ♪
♪ But soon,
you’ll hear that cry” ♪
♪ She told me ♪
♪ “And you’ll look around” ♪
[singers] ♪ You’ll look around ♪
♪ “At that sharp, piercing” ♪
[singers] ♪ Sharp piercing ♪
♪ Sharp piercing,
sharp piercing ♪
Their fingers touch, tingling with electricity.
Shh.
They’re bringing someone from interrogation.
[Castellanos] Anything you want to tell the professor, Arregui?
Well?
[Luis] You know him, right?
Well, darling, if I looked like that, I’d want a bag over my head too.
[yelps]
Shut up! Shut the fuck up!
Yes, I know him.
He’s a brave man, and you mocked him!
You and your scarves and your beaded curtains!
You disgust me.
I shouldn’t have done that.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry too.
It was a bad joke.
So, Molina.
Do you have anything for me?
With respect, Warden, I think you’ve cast the wrong person.
I couldn’t have less in common with that man.
Honestly, I don’t think he’ll ever confide in me.
Has he talked about anyone he’s working with?
No names?
Not even in his sleep?
Well, how would I know?
I’m asleep too.
Well, maybe you should sleep less and listen more.
I’ll keep trying. I promise.
Oh, I have some good news.
I convinced the parole board to look at your case.
Well, that’s wonderful.
Thank you.
It would make my mother so happy to see me home again.
Yes. Your mother.
I’m afraid she’s taken a turn for the worse.
Another small heart attack.
Don’t worry.
She’s out of danger.
No, she has the danger inside.
Her heart is tired from forgiving so much.
I’m a tolerant man, Molina.
I’m not disgusted by degenerates like you.
[alarm blaring in the distance]
[Luis humming]
[Valentín huffing]
[man screams distantly]
[Luis continues humming]
[Valentín breathes heavily] Molina.
Yes?
You saw the warden this morning?
How did you know?
There’s a thousand eyes in this place.
Are you an informer?
Of course.
What else would I be doing here?
The warden didn’t ask you anything about me?
No. It’s my mother, she’s been sick, as I already told you.
Okay.
Thank God she has my Aunt Chicha to take care of her.
That’s right.
You’re an only child.
Yes, it’s always been just the two of us.
Are you from a big family?
[Valentín] Huge.
Last time I went home, my father asked, “Who are you?”
My mother nearly killed him.
“I can’t keep track, woman,” he said.
Et voila, a sense of humor!
Marta thought it was funny too.
Who’s Marta?
Your girlfriend?
No one.
Oh. Marta’s no one? Hmm.
Hey, look at me.
You don’t want to know anything about me.
[man screams distantly]
The only reason I’m still alive is because I have information they want, and they won’t stop till they get it.
Do you understand?
You were in danger the minute you met me.
Darling, I’m a window dresser.
When it comes to the violent overthrow of the junta, I don’t think they expect to see a bunch of sissies leading the march.
I’m sorry.
I cringe every time you make fun of yourself.
[lights buzz]
[man screams distantly]
[Luis] It’ll be lights out soon.
Do you want me to go on with the picture?
Yeah, man, whatever.
Aurora and Armando spend every minute together.
They work by day and play by night.
Fuck by night.
No, people don’t do that in musicals.
Yeah. But they’re romantic?
[Luis] Not yet.
As I told you, Aurora is working through some commitment issues.
Yeah. She’s built a wall around herself, so thick not even bullets can get through it.
It turns out Armando comes from the same village where Aurora was born, way up north, at the edge of the jungle.
He convinces her to do a photo shoot up there, among the people.
See, even though he’s a renowned artist, Armando sees himself as an everyday man.
[bell tolling]
[Armando] For me, real beauty has nothing to do with fashion.
Real beauty is this.
[soft music playing]
[bicycle bell dings]
♪ An everyday man ♪
♪ Wants an everyday life ♪
[children giggle]
[Aurora] Yes?
♪ In an everyday house ♪
♪ Doing everyday things ♪
♪ With an everyday wife ♪
[woman] I’m sorry.
♪ And every day
he hurries home ♪
[shutter clicks]
♪ Hangs up his everyday hat ♪
♪ And finds his everyday dog ♪
♪ Running straight
to his arms ♪
♪ For his everyday pat ♪
[dog grunts]
[shutter clicks]
♪ And the everyday thought ♪
♪ In his everyday head ♪
♪ Is of time to play house ♪
♪ With his everyday spouse ♪
[shutter clicks]
♪ In their everyday bed ♪
[shutter clicks]
♪ Yes, they’re
an everyday pair ♪
♪ In every way ♪
♪ Except you don’t find love
like theirs ♪
♪ Every day ♪
[camera clicks]
[soft music continues]
[switch clicks]
[Aurora laughs]
♪ And their everyday kiss ♪
♪ And their everyday kiss ♪
♪ As they turn out the light ♪
♪ As they turn on the light ♪
♪ Should assure you,
my friends ♪
♪ It is rapture that ends ♪
♪ Every everyday night ♪
♪ They’re like the couple
next door ♪
♪ You’d have to say ♪
♪ Except you don’t find love
like theirs ♪
♪ You don’t find love
like theirs ♪
[both] ♪ You don’t find love
like theirs ♪
♪ Every day ♪
♪ Every day ♪
♪ Every day ♪
[kisses]
This is another reason I hate musicals.
They’re pure propaganda, made by the ruling class to put people’s minds to sleep.
Oh, Lord, take me now.
[Valentín] Don’t you see how regressive this film is?
The photographer feels threatened by a powerful woman, so he wants to turn her into a doormat.
No! There was much more respect for women in those days.
Their beauty gave them power!
I suppose you prefer the movies they make now, that dreary dust bowl ruled over by Ms. Sissy Spacek, Ms. Meryl Streep, Ms. Glenn Close, and Ms. Glenda Jackson, the Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse!
[Valentín] At least they’re real actors playing real characters.
Not like these silly fantasy figures
you’re so fond of.
[Luis] Fond?
I’m not fond of them, I love them!
Aurora is divine.
Oh, come on.
She’s the perfect woman, and Armando is my idea of a real man.
Really?
And what is that exactly?
I won’t bore you with my preferences.
[Valentín] Oh, no, please, go ahead. I don’t mind.
Because I don’t wanna be bored by your opinion of them.
No, no, no, I’m interested.
What do you think a real man is?
Someone who’s strong, who’s not afraid to take charge.
Especially in his own home.
Oh, so, you don’t think men and women should be equal partners in the home?
A real woman doesn’t want equality.
There’s no kick to it.
Kick? What kick?
The tingle you get when a man puts his arm around you
when you’re a bit frightened.
Oh, my God.
What a pile of crap!
Whatever. It’s how I feel.
[Valentín] No, it’s how you were taught to feel.
This is getting us nowhere.
[alarm rings] I wish you a good night then, hmm?
[sighs]
[grunts]
[inhales, exhales deeply]
Molina.
[Luis] Hmm.
I’m wide awake.
Tell me a bit more of the film.
It’ll put me out.
Just a little more.
Please.
[sighs]
Okay, but no more interrupting.
Armando takes Aurora to the one hot spot in town.
[jazz music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[music ends]
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat jazz music plays]
Forget photography, Armando, you should open a dancing school.
Yes. A man of so many talents.
Cheers.
Cheers.
[woman] Welcome home, stranger.
[Luis] Enter Paulina Paz.
Long nose, bushy brows, and eyes as dull as two wrapped caramels.
I get it.
You don’t like her.
[Luis] Everyone thinks she’s beautiful, but she doesn’t hold a candle to Aurora.
Her only advantage is her youth, which she wields like a machete.
It’s obvious from the way she greets Armando that they were once an item and that she still carries a torch.
[scoffs] The plot thins.
Paulina makes a big show of being gracious to Aurora.
I hope you’re enjoying your stay here.
I’m sure our little village can’t compare to the big city.
Oh, I was born in this village.
We moved away when I was a little girl.
Oh, that was before my time.
Perhaps our families know each other.
I doubt it.
We were simple people.
[Luis] I adore this moment.
Aurora shows that stupid, stuckup girl what real class looks like.
And then the room goes quiet.
[tense music plays]
All eyes turn.
Johnny Desiderio has arrived.
[upbeat jazz music plays]
[Valentín] The villain, at last!
[Luis] No, the supervillain!
A two-bit gangster who’s been bleeding the village and its people dry for years.
Finally, some fun people.
How can she bear to be touched by that cockroach?
[upbeat jazz music continues]
[Luis]
This club is his playground, and he treats everyone like his toy.
[upbeat jazz music continues]
[Luis] The thing I love about La Luna is that no matter how hard Hollywood tried to make her seem all-American, she never stopped being Latin.
[upbeat jazz music playing]
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat jazz music continues]
[cheers and applause]
[laughs]
That was amazing.
[Aurora] Thank you.
Just having a little fun.
Give me.
I think I’ll turn in.
If you’ll excuse me.
Of course, Armando.
I’ll see you in the lobby in the morning?
I’m sorry.
He still cares for her.
Kendall Nesbit has been feeling ignored since Armando entered the picture.
Now, he has a purpose again.
Let’s get you to bed.
[music ends]
And with that, I say ciao.
Good night, Valentín.
No, don’t stop now.
It’s a bunch of silly clichés, but at least these new characters inject a bit of dramatic conflict.
Better to leave the audience wanting more.
Sleep tight.
Molina?
Hmm.
This song Aurora keeps hearing, her shrink thought it might be related
to some childhood trauma.
Oh, God, let her be.
Do you ever think you identify with her because you suffered something similar?
[Luis] Do you have a theory for everything?
You said it was only ever you and your mother.
Where was your father?
He died when I was four.
So what?
Isn’t it obvious?
That early dependence on your mother
is what made you a homosexual.
Oh, really?
Talk about clichés.
No, no, hear me out.
Without a father, the sensitive boy tries to please his mother by taking on
her more nurturing qualities.
Yeah.
Just like the macho boy tries to please his father
by becoming a revolutionary.
No.
I’m not macho.
I hate macho and all it stands for.
Oh, is that so?
Honestly, do you think you’re telling me something that I haven’t heard a thousand times before?
Next you’ll say that the right woman will convert me, because there’s nothing better than a good woman.
To which I say, I agree!
And since there’s nothing better than a woman, I wanna be one.
Why do you keep saying that?
Because it’s true.
Why don’t you believe me?
You know what I believe?
I believe that people look at you and they see a monster, so you play the part.
But Molina, you’re not a monster.
You’re a man.
The light from the candle’s keeping me up.
Do you mind?
[exhales]
[beads rattle]
[soft music playing]
♪ She wears satin ♪
♪ Spanish lace ♪
♪ She feels
wild chinchilla brush ♪
♪ Across her face ♪
♪ She’s lucky ♪
♪ She’s a woman ♪
♪ She wears diamonds ♪
♪ Bright as stars ♪
♪ She has lovers open doors
to fancy cars ♪
♪ She’s lucky ♪
♪ So lucky ♪
♪ She’s a woman ♪
♪ A perfume by Lanvin ♪
♪ To dab across her wrist ♪
♪ A secret, ribboned diary ♪
♪ Of all the men she’s kissed ♪
♪ So many men ♪
♪ She’s kissed ♪
♪ Lilac waters ♪
♪ Bathe her skin ♪
♪ At the opera, ushers gasp
when she sweeps in ♪
♪ Gifts of chocolate ♪
♪ Roses too ♪
♪ Hand-delivered notes
confessing “I love you” ♪
♪ Milky lotions ♪
♪ Scented creams ♪
♪ She’s the climax
of your technicolor dreams ♪
♪ How lucky can you be? ♪
♪ So lucky, you’ll agree ♪
♪ And I wish ♪
♪ That she were me ♪
♪ That woman ♪
[cell doors open]
[grunts]
[yells]
[both grunting]
This is your fault, maricón.
[Valentín grunting]
[yelps]
He has a girlfriend.
Her name is Marta.
[Oscar] Marta who?
I don’t know.
We need more.
How can I get you more if you take him away?
I’m getting close, I just need more time.
Time is the one thing I can’t give you.
Things are coming to a head, we need information.
Well, torture won’t work on him, that much I know.
We don’t torture people here.
[Luis] No, but if you bring him back from his interrogation, I can get you her full name, and much more.
Please. I beg you.
Oh, Molina.
Do you have a little crush on that piece of shit?
Of course not.
I just want to see my mother.
The sooner Arregui talks, the sooner you get out.
[metal door creaks]
[Valentín grunting]
[Valentín continues grunting]
[alarm ringing]
[cell door closes]
[Valentín yells distantly]
La Luna.
Help me, please.
I can’t be alone.
[lights buzz]
I can’t be here.
Save me, Luna.
Take me away.
Yes.
To a movie.
[lights buzz]
[dramatic music playing]
♪ When you feel
you’ve gone to hell ♪
♪ In a handbasket ♪
♪ And the world
in which you dwell’s ♪
♪ No paradise ♪
[La Luna] ♪ I’ve some counsel
I can give ♪
♪ You need but ask it ♪
♪ I’m so very glad to share ♪
♪ This good advice ♪
[upbeat jazz music playing]
♪ You’ve got to learn
how not to be where you are ♪
♪ The more you face reality,
the more you scar ♪
♪ So close your eyes
and you’ll become ♪
♪ A movie star ♪
♪ Why must you stay ♪
♪ Where you are? ♪
[upbeat jazz music continues]
♪ You’ve got to learn
how not to see ♪
♪ What you’ve seen ♪
♪ The slice of hell
you call your life ♪
♪ Is harsh and mean ♪
♪ So why not lie beside me
on a movie screen? ♪
♪ Why must you see ♪
♪ What you’ve seen? ♪
♪ And if you find
that you land in jail ♪
♪ A little fantasy
will not fail ♪
♪ It’s just as simple as ABC ♪
♪ Come up here ♪
♪ Play with me ♪
♪ Play with me ♪
[director] Lights.
[La Luna laughs]
[director] Camera.
And action!
♪ You’ve got to learn
how not to do ♪
♪ What you’ve done ♪
♪ The pistol shot can’t kill
if you unload the gun ♪
♪ So build a palace
where you’re the shah ♪
♪ And we’ll embrace
in that Shangri-La ♪
♪ If you run away ♪
♪ Some matinee ♪
♪ From where you are ♪
[upbeat jazz music playing]
♪ You’ve got to learn
how not to be where you are ♪
♪ Where you are ♪
♪ The more you face reality,
the more you scar ♪
♪ The more you scar ♪
♪ So close your eyes
and you’ll become ♪
♪ A movie star ♪
♪ Why must you stay ♪
♪ Must you stay ♪
♪ Where you are? ♪
[upbeat jazz music playing]
♪ So why not lie beside me
on a movie screen? ♪
♪ Why must you see ♪
♪ What you’ve seen? ♪
♪ And if you find
that you land in jail ♪
♪ A little fantasy
will not fail ♪
♪ It’s just as simple as ABC ♪
♪ Come up here ♪
♪ Play with me ♪
[Luis laughs]
♪ Play with me ♪
[upbeat jazz music playing]
[all] ♪ And if you find
that you land in jail ♪
♪ A little fantasy
will not fail ♪
♪ It’s just as simple as ABC ♪
♪ Come up here ♪
♪ Come up here ♪
♪ Play with me ♪
♪ Play with me ♪
♪ Turn off the lights
and turn on your mind ♪
♪ And I can promise you
you will find ♪
♪ You will like my plan ♪
♪ My sweetest fan ♪
[chuckles]
♪ My leading man ♪
♪ Anywhere ♪
♪ You are ♪
[screaming]
[indistinct chatter]
Oh, God. Have you killed him?
You won’t get away with this!
Get out of here!
[door locks]
[footsteps recede]
Oh, sweet Jesus.
How much more of this can you endure?
Why don’t you just tell them what they want?
Then all of this will be over.
[acoustic music playing]
[inmate 1 singing in Spanish]
[inmate 1 continues singing]
[inmates singing in Spanish]
[inmate 2 singing in Spanish]
[inmate 1 singing in Spanish]
[inmates singing in Spanish]
[singing in Spanish]
[Luis] When Johnny Desiderio realizes that Paulina’s still in love with Armando, he has his goons kidnap him and beat him raw.
I always shut my eyes during this part.
They dump Armando at the edge of the jungle forest.
[dishes clink]
And then, all at once, Aurora is there.
She doesn’t flinch at the sight of him.
She’s so courageous.
I’m a wreck at this point.
The tears are streaming down my cheeks.
You always get lost in the emotion.
I just want to know what happens.
Well, she sings, of course.
Oh, no.
[Luis] No, no, no, no, no.
I swear to God, it’s not what you think.
It’s the most natural thing imaginable.
[Aurora] ♪ I do miracles ♪
♪ Though the lash of the whip
has caused your flesh to tear ♪
♪ I will place my lips
on you everywhere ♪
♪ And I’ll do ♪
♪ Miracles ♪
St
Stop.
I’m sorry.
Don’t get upset.
II can’t keep my mind on the story.
When you talk about Aurora, I just see…
Marta.
I guess it has to come out one way or another.
What?
Weakness.
Well, that’s not weakness.
That’s love.
[Valentín] It’s funny how you can’t help getting attached to someone.
It’s as if the mind just oozes sentiment.
Is that what you believe?
Like a leaky faucet.
You can’t stop the drips.
Right now, I would give anything to be able to hold her.
Just thinking about her, it’s torture.
No, you should never push away pleasant thoughts.
Lie down.
Trust me.
Close your eyes.
Now, when I say “Aurora,” you see Marta.
♪ I do miracles ♪
[Marta] ♪ I do miracles ♪
♪ As I cradle you close
and caress each bruise ♪
♪ What I’ve come here to give
you must not refuse ♪
[Aurora and Marta] ♪ There is love ♪
♪ In my touch ♪
♪ That is yours to use ♪
♪ And if you choose ♪
♪ Just breathe my name ♪
♪ And there I’ll be ♪
♪ Doing miracles ♪
♪ I do miracles ♪
♪ There are miracles ♪
♪ In me ♪
Voila, monsieur, our specialty of the evening… flambé de merde.
Beans and rice.
This is a lot for me.
Have mine.
No, thank you.
Yeah, I know. Eat, eat.
Come on.
This rice a la glue
is not half bad tonight.
Mmhmm.
[Valentín] Do you always eat like that?
Take man bites.
I’m not an animal, I take ladylike bites.
How does your Marta eat?
I don’t know, I’ve never noticed.
That’s the last thing a man notices about a woman.
Hmm. If I love someone, I notice everything about them.
How they eat, how they sleep, everything.
Do you have anyone?
A fellow?
I’m sorry. A fellow?
I immediately picture Ronald Reagan.
You know what I meant.
His name’s Gabriel.
He’s a waiter at an all-night restaurant, the Trocadero.
Everything about him is perfect.
The way he walks, his tender voice with a slight lilt to it.
It sounds like another one of your fantasies.
No, he’s extremely real.
[scoffs] Do you miss him?
I do, but not in the way you mean.
We never made love.
You’ve never fucked?
No.
We never even touched.
I don’t get it.
He’s… married.
Two children.
It took a year for us just to become friends.
Well, he had to see that I respected him.
I know.
It doesn’t sound like much, but he told me things that he never told anyone else.
I did too.
Does he visit you?
No.
His family keeps him busy.
And he works hard, double shifts sometimes.
Hmm.
I send him letters, but…
It’s been three years.
Sometimes I wonder if he even remembers me.
You know what?
I’m not gonna study tonight.
[sniffs]
Why don’t we go to the movies?
All right.
Um, where were we?
Armando’s been beaten by the gangsters.
Ah, yes, of course.
Some villagers carry him deep into the forest where Johnny Desiderio won’t find him.
They take him to this strange house, all in stone, roof covered in straw, the whole place overgrown with jungle plants.
Clemencia lives there.
She’s the village elder.
Almost blind, but she sees everything.
After Armando falls asleep, Clemencia tells Aurora a terrible legend.
For centuries, the wild beasts of the jungle would go mad with hunger in wintertime.
They would climb down from the mountains and into the village, killing everyone.
The people sought help from the Spider Woman.
A magical creature born of a human mother and an all-powerful forest spirit.
She offered protection asking for one thing in return.
That once every ten years, a woman of the village would offer up the man she loves, as a sacrifice.
You were born on one of those nights.
Meaning one day you would have to offer up a sacrifice of your own.
[dramatic music playing]
This explains so much.
[sighs]
Why our family left the village, why…
Why I can’t love.
She has called you back.
Yes, with her song.
[Clemencia] When she appears, it means someone is about to die.
♪ Soon, I feel it ♪
♪ Soon somehow ♪
♪ I will have him ♪
♪ Any minute now ♪
[Luis] I was eight years old when I first saw her.
You can imagine how terrified I was.
I didn’t sleep for a week!
By the way, did I mention that Ingrid Luna played both parts?
Several times.
What a tour de force.
[groans]
What is it?
[groans] The girl’s fucked!
What girl?
Me, stupid! It’s my stomach.
You going to throw up? Wait.
No, it’s lower down.
Cramps in my groin. [screams] Breathe.
Hey.
[groaning]
That food was poisoned.
No, no, no.
Then we’d both be sick.
It’s my nerves.
I’ve just been on edge all day.
[screams]
Breathe. Breathe.
Get help.
I can’t handle this.
[Valentín] Guards!
Guards! Guards!
[Luis screaming]
Please. [panting]
[doctor] Sleep.
Release the pain.
[foreboding music playing]
[Spider Woman] ♪ Come and find me ♪
♪ Hear my song ♪
[Luis breathes shakily]
[Spider Woman] Good evening.
How have you been?
Go away.
You know how I’ve been.
I only want to talk.
♪ Why are you afraid? ♪
♪ I’ve always been
afraid of you ♪
♪ But why? ♪
[Luis] ♪ I don’t know ♪
♪ It will change ♪
♪ Someday you’ll recognize me
as your friend ♪
♪ No, never my friend,
go away ♪
[Spider Woman] ♪ But I am beautiful ♪
♪ Yes, you are ♪
♪ And I am warm ♪
♪ And kind and gentle ♪
♪ Why don’t you like me? ♪
♪ I don’t know ♪
♪ Someday you will understand ♪
♪ I am your friend ♪
♪ Someday you will kiss me ♪
[Luis] ♪ Never, never! ♪
♪ Go away, go away! ♪
♪ Someday you’ll give in ♪
♪ Of course you will ♪
Hmm.
♪ All men do ♪
♪ Yes, all men kiss me ♪
♪ And you will too ♪
♪ You’ll part my lips ♪
♪ And rest yours there ♪
♪ You’ll run your fingers
through my hair ♪
♪ Your cries of pleasure ♪
♪ Will heat
the cool night air ♪
♪ When you kiss me ♪
♪ And you will kiss me ♪
♪ But not now ♪
[groans]
[breathes heavily]
♪ Not yet ♪
♪ Not now ♪
[gasps]
[cell doors open]
[door creaks]
How are you?
[Luis] Still a little woozy.
[Castellanos] Hey.
Look what else we brought you.
[clicks tongue]
Fuck you.
[Valentín] I’m sorry.
They didn’t feed me for three days.
I don’t give a fuck what they put in it.
I’m not gonna feel right unless I tell you something.
You missed me. I know.
I went through your things while you were gone.
I had to be sure I could trust you.
And can you?
I’ve been a shit not telling you anything about myself.
Now I feel I owe you a confidence.
Inside here, everything’s gotta be 5050, right?
Okay.
[clears throat, sniffs]
Marta’s not in the movement.
Now, that’s a surprise.
She dropped out after we met.
She was happy just to be together.
What’s she like?
She comes from a rich family.
[chuckles]
Drives a little red Mercedes.
No.
280 SL.
[both laugh]
She even plays golf.
She sounds divine.
Does she have a brother?
[Valentín] She’s everything I’m supposed to hate.
[chuckles] I’m a hypocrite.
[groans]
[Luis] What?
Oh, fuck.
What? What’s wrong?
I was right.
They’re poisoning us.
Oh, I-I’ll get the guards.
No, no.
They’ll give me morphine.
They get you hooked, then you lose your resistance.
[breathes heavily]
But, no, you won’t be able to stand the pain.
I can. Just help me sit down.
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
I’ll be fine.
I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.
Okay. You’re all right.
Everything’s going to be okay.
[Valentín groans]
Hey, hey, hey. Come on.
[groaning] Are you okay?
Promise you won’t let them take me.
The doctor may be able to help you.
Promise. Promise me.
Okay. I promise.
Okay. [breathes heavily]
[gasps]
What?
[Valentín] Oh! [exhales]
Oh, no.
[Luis] What?
Oh, no.
What is it?
I’m sorry.
I’m so ashamed.
[exhales sharply]
I… I shit myself.
Okay. It’s okay.
Everything’s going to be okay.
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It’s going to be okay. Yeah.
It’s okay, huh?
Okay. Okay.
Don’t, don’t, don’t.
Don’t use the blanket.
You’ll need it to keep you warm.
Yeah. You’re right. Thank you.
Let me get something for you to clean yourself.
No, not your shirt.
It’s fine.
I’ll wash it tomorrow.
Please.
Okay.
Yeah.
[groans]
Fuck. [pants] Valentín, let me do it.
Let me do it. Please.
Let me help.
[Valentín] Fuck!
[Luis] Oh.
Oh. Okay.
Give me the other foot.
Give me the other foot.
[grunts]
Did it go through? Eh?
Um…
Your underpants held most of it in.
Okay. Okay.
[Luis] Gentle.
Okay, careful, careful, careful, careful.
All right, all right.
Oh, careful, careful.
Okay. Okay, okay, okay.
Oh, no.
This doesn’t disgust you?
Well, I don’t wanna make a career of it.
Is it clean?
Yeah.
[prison guard] Arregui.
Help. Help.
What are you doing in there?
What do you think we’re doing?
Do you mind?
You make me sick.
That was good.
Thank you. [panting]
[breathing shakily]
Molina, take my mind off the pain.
The movie…
Yes. Aurora.
She’s hot. She’s hot.
That’s right.
I wanna fuck her.
You wanna fuck her, and I wanna be her.
Yes, that’s funny.
Now, once Armando has recovered, he returns to the village with Aurora.
[festive music playing]
[Luis] Just in time for Carnival.
But what they don’t see…
[Armando] Stop.
Wait. I need to talk to you.
[Luis] …is that somebody’s following them.
These are good people.
And they’re ready to rise up against the monster who’s destroying their lives.
I can’t leave them now.
I want you to stay with me.
What happens in this village is not my concern.
I know nothing of it.
And I care even less.
[scoffs]
You’re just like Aurora.
Hey, don’t make fun.
I wasn’t.
La Luna’s so tremendous in this scene.
“I’m a woman,” she says.
“I live only for art and love and beauty.”
But here’s the thing, she’s only pretending not to care.
Ooh, mami.
[Luis] She’s trying to make Armando hate her.
[Valentín] The curse.
[Luis] Yes!
She wants to save him from the Spider Woman.
Notice that the person that’s been following them has spiked Armando’s drink.
[Valentín] It’s art imitating life.
Why do I get the feeling you’re making this up as you go along?
I wouldn’t put it past me.
[Armando] Hey.
I’m… Perdón. I’m sorry.
Please. Here.
Look, have mine.
I’ll get myself another one.
[festive music continues]
[exhales]
[Luis] She starts to feel woozy.
The drug is taking effect.
Aurora opens her eyes.
We’re inside her dream now.
She’s still determined to drive Armando away, so she lures him into the sleazy club.
But it’s different.
Painted a deep scarlet, the color of sex.
It’s like being inside Aurora’s mind.
And, darling, it’s all the psychology I need.
♪ If there’s a war on,
don’t bring me the news ♪
♪ Ask me to bullfights
and I must refuse ♪
♪ But if you want
to get my attention ♪
♪ Let’s make love ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme love
Gimme kisses ♪
♪ Gimme love, gimme love
Gimme kisses, gimme love ♪
♪ If there’s an earthquake,
I will not attend ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme kisses
Gimme love ♪
♪ If there’s a plague,
don’t invite me, my friend ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme kisses
Gimme love, love, love ♪
♪ But if you want to ♪
♪ Keep me looking
in your direction ♪
♪ Let’s make love ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme love
Gimme kisses, gimme love ♪
♪ Gimme love, gimme kisses
Gimme love, love, love ♪
♪ Gimme love, gimme love
Gimme kisses, gimme love ♪
♪ Gimme love, gimme kisses
Gimme love ♪
♪ It’s like giving
to the needy ♪
♪ And I don’t mind
being greedy ♪
♪ Come on, chico,
please be speedy ♪
♪ And bring me
what I long for ♪
♪ If there’s a fire,
don’t bring me a hose ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme kisses
Gimme love ♪
♪ Call me a coward,
that’s true I suppose ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme kisses
Gimme love, love, love ♪
♪ But all I want is beauty ♪
♪ So gimme, gimme, gimme ♪
♪ Hugs ♪
♪ Gimme, gimme, gimme ♪
♪ Squeezes ♪
♪ Gimme, gimme, gimme ♪
♪ Lips ♪
♪ Gimme, gimme, gimme ♪
♪ Kisses ♪
♪ So let’s not make
more trouble ♪
♪ Let’s make… ♪
♪ Gimme ♪
♪ Love ♪
[chuckles]
[singers] ♪ Gimme love ♪
[Aurora] ♪ Come on, boys ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme kisses ♪
♪ Here you go ♪
♪ Gimme love ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme love ♪
♪ Yes! ♪
[singers] ♪ Gimme love ♪
♪ Gimme kisses ♪
♪ Gimme love ♪
♪ Kisses ♪
[Luis] Once Armando is gone, Aurora’s dream turns into a nightmare.
[grunting]
[Aurora] Oh!
[grunts]
[groans]
[grunting] I’m gonna stick my fingers down your throat.
Don’t bite. Do you hear me?
Don’t bite.
[vomits]
They’re coming back.
[grunts]
[prison guard]
Are you sick, Arregui?
We can take you to the clinic.
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
He’s fine.
I’m fine. I’m fine.
Mmhmm. Yeah.
[Castellanos]
This is fucking bullshit.
[Luis] Okay.
Did they take me?
No.
You’re still with me.
I’m cold.
Where am I?
In a movie.
Huh…
You…
You have a vivid imagination.
Thank you.
Too vivid.
There’s no such thing.
You’re a kind man.
[tense music builds]
[music fades]
[Luis] She’s gone.
You’re safe.
Thank God, you’re safe.
[news reporter] Sources inside the Congressional Palace confirmed that there are cracks within the coalition.
Peaceful demonstrations have turned violent in several areas, leading the government to announce a nationwide curfew, beginning at 6:00 p.m. tonight.
[Oscar] You had one job, to get him to the infirmary, and you couldn’t even do that?
Is it my fault that the man has an iron constitution?
Do you have any idea what’s going on out there?
I’m not political.
I don’t know about these things.
Arregui’s group is the link between the traitors inside the government and the animals marching on the streets.
If we don’t expose them, we could have a civil war on our hands.
He’s starting to open up.
I can feel it.
[Oscar] You know what, Molina?
I don’t give a fuck about your feelings.
Get this faggot out of here.
[Luis] Uh, Valentín has eyes everywhere.
He’ll wonder why I was talking to you.
Say your mother’s better and she came to visit.
Oh, no, he’ll never believe that.
He knows she always brings me food.
[sighs]
Okay, we’ll send out for some groceries.
Tell us what she usually brings, and be quick about it.
Well, I told him my mother’s an excellent cook, so… two chickens from Veaugirard’s on the Avenida and some of their famous roast potatoes soaked overnight in milk.
And guava paste.
Two boxes of tea, one breakfast, the other chamomile.
Oh, and condensed milk.
Hold on.
I can speak much slower, if you’d like.
A can of peaches, two bars of soap, suavisimo, bathsize.
Two cans of soup, a jar of pickled herring, a cherry Madeira, and… tada. This month’s Vogue.
Your mother?
Yes, she’s better.
Oh, and look at what else she brought us. Hm?
Oh, no, no.
That’s for you, my friend.
Would you shut up?
There are two chickens here, one for each of us.
[Valentín] No, I’m not cool with that.
Well, I’m not doing it for you.
I can’t face another day of that revolution that’s happening in your stomach.
All right.
Good. That’s settled.
Molina?
Hmm?
Do you mind if I have a chicken leg right away?
Well, I had something more formal in mind.
[thunder rumbling]
[Valentín] Mmm.
I’m not very good at saying this,
but thank you.
Hmm.
Well, you’re lucky you have a housewife as a cellmate.
You could be living with a homosexual.
[laughter]
Not just for the food.
Thank you for taking care of me, seeing me through.
I think I would’ve died if it wasn’t for you.
How about the last potato, hmm?
Open wide.
[chuckles] [groans] Mmm.
Don’t tell your mother, but…
[inhales deeply]
[sighs] I think I just came.
That’s it for you. No more.
[Valentín] Mmm.
I’ll take this.
Thank you.
You know what would make this even better?
Let me guess.
Aurora?
No.
I don’t feel like escaping tonight.
I wanna stay here.
And do what?
[Luis] Listen to you.
Oh, come on. I’m tired of hearing my own voice.
I want you to talk.
About what?
Anything.
Okay.
Okay.
You have hundreds of movies.
I have one.
And it only has one scene.
You know the park opposite city hall?
[Luis] Mmhmm.
Picture thousands of people gathered to hear Alberto Golizar speak.
I was only 15, but already I knew about the illegal arrests, the death squads, the thousands of people who’d been disappeared.
Golizar asked people to share their stories.
For some reason, he pointed to my sister and me.
Maybe because we looked so hungry.
“Tell us.
Tell us about the home our country has given you.”
“Our home?” I said.
Our home was made of mud, pieces of tin and cardboard boxes nailed together.
When I said that, the park got very quiet.
Everyone wanted to hear our story.
I’ll never forget the look on my sister’s face.
A 14yearold girl who was being noticed for the first time in her life.
When you feel like that, you don’t think the person standing next to you is hiding a machine gun, waiting for the order to open fire.
When it was over, 47 people were dead.
Two of them were children.
One was my sister.
[sighs deeply]
[cell doors open]
[Castellanos]
Good news, Arregui.
The professor didn’t talk.
Bad news.
[door clanking]
[Luis gasps]
[cell door closes]
[thunder rumbling]
Oh, that poor man.
He won his place in heaven, that’s for sure.
[sighs] Just let it be quick when my time comes.
Don’t say that.
Don’t even think it.
The professor was a huge figure in the movement.
He had contacts high up in the regime…
Valentín, don’t tell me.
…including one of the generals.
I don’t wanna know!
You’re right.
I’m sorry.
[alarm bell ringing]
Do you mind if I dictate a letter?
I tried to write it myself, but… the page kept swimming.
Yeah.
Here.
Dear Marta, I’m writing because…
I’m afraid it all might end here, that my life will amount to nothing.
Sometimes I tell myself I took something of you with me and that I haven’t lost it.
But then I realize, there’s only me, all alone in this cell.
And I can’t wash because I’m sick and I’m afraid the freezing water will give me pneumonia.
[Luis] Wait.
[Valentín] What?
You’re right. The freezing water could kill you.
But we can still get you clean.
I could use the hot water from the tea and two towels, one covered in soap and the other just hot and wet to wipe the soap off.
And that will stop the itching.
Of course.
[chuckles]
[thunder rumbling]
In all the time I was with Marta…
[sighs] I never said, “I love you.”
Never.
What an awful word.
I don’t wanna die, Molina.
I wanna be a fat old man and have a dozen grandchildren.
[sobbing]
Give me your hand.
Like I said… a leaky faucet.
Molina.
Hmm?
Look at the shadows, the candle is casting on the wall.
You never noticed them?
Never.
I always watch them.
It helps pass the time.
[elevator bell dings]
[Oscar] Last chance, Molina.
Anything you want to tell me?
[elevator bell dings]
[judge] Prisoner 31452, Santiago Ventura, after due consideration, this board is declining the stay in your sentence.
Petition denied.
[people murmuring]
[woman sobs] Luis Molina.
[Valentín] So you’re really not going to tell me what happened at the hearing?
I said it was fine.
So it went well?
Actually, it was terrible.
They denied your parole.
[Luis] No.
Not yet, at least.
They said that when a decision is pending… convicts are moved to a different block.
I leave at the end of the week.
And I won’t be back.
Armando comes to Aurora’s suite… sees her bags are packed.
He gazes out the window.
Tonight is the night.
The Spider Woman wants her kiss.
Armando wants to tell Aurora how he feels… but he can’t.
[sighs]
I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.
Goodbye, Armando.
[Luis] It’s the most terrible thing.
Two people who can’t admit they’re in love.
All ready?
Yes.
Armando.
Kendall.
Armando, you have to get out of here.
Johnny and his men are on their way.
[Armando] Who told them where I was?
[Paulina] It doesn’t matter.
They’re going to kill you!
Let them come.
My life is over anyway.
Nonsense.
You have Paulina now.
Armando doesn’t want me.
He loves you.
Don’t you know that?
Is that true, Armando?
[soft music plays]
♪ Others might deceive me,
but… ♪
♪ Never you ♪
♪ Lead me on, then leave me ♪
♪ But never you ♪
♪ Someone else
might take my trust ♪
♪ Break my trust in two ♪
♪ Things
you’d find impossible ♪
♪ To do ♪
♪ Other loves might tell ♪
♪ Some easy lie ♪
♪ Say forever ♪
♪ When they mean ♪
♪ Goodbye ♪
♪ But no, no ♪
♪ Never ♪
♪ Never you ♪
[music crescendos]
[Kendall] Well, this doesn’t change a thing, Aurora.
You still have a magazine to publish, deadlines to meet.
We have to leave.
I can’t, Kendall.
Please, try and understand.
It’s not just because I love Armando, it’s because he’s made me see things through his eyes.
These people need our help.
Remember, I’m one of them.
But…
[Aurora] Not another word, Kendall.
I know it was you who betrayed us.
I’m sorry.
I couldn’t lose you.
That’s a surprise.
Rule number one, never trust a closeted queen.
[laughs]
Aurora has nothing but bad options now.
Go to Clemencia.
She will protect you.
No. No. Not the jungle.
Take my car.
Let’s go. Come on.
[suspenseful music plays]
Please, Armando.
We have to stop.
She’s drawing us into her web.
Listen to me! She will kill you!
Aurora and Armando are being followed, but not by Desiderio.
What’s the matter?
Hey.
[Luis sobs]
Don’t do that.
I’m so tired, Valentín.
I’m tired of suffering.
It hurts inside.
Where?
In my chest, and in my throat.
Here?
Yeah.
[Valentín] What a relief.
What?
[Valentín] To care about someone again.
Could I…
Could I touch you too?
Yes.
[Valentín breathes deeply]
Lie down.
Come on.
Get closer to the wall.
[Luis] Okay.
[exhales]
[Valentín] Your skin…
[Luis moans]
…it’s so soft.
[Luis] Do you like it?
[Valentín] Yeah.
Yes.
[Luis] You awake?
Yeah.
[Luis] A strange thing happened to me last night.
[laughs]
You could say that.
[Luis] When you were with me… it was like I wasn’t me anymore.
I felt like I was you.
But later, when you went back to your bed, I wasn’t you either.
And I still wasn’t me.
I was somebody else.
Not a man or a woman.
I was nothing… and everything.
It felt like being…
Out of danger.
Exactly.
How did you know?
I felt it too.
Marcuse writes about this.
Gender as a social construct.
Oh, please, Valentín, no theories today.
Some things are too interesting to put into words.
You’re right, you’re right.
I’m sorry.
Besides, I feel good and I don’t want to spoil it.
You know the nicest thing about being happy?
You think you’ll never be unhappy again.
Molina.
Your parole is approved, on my recommendation.
All I have to do is sign it.
What should I do, Molina?
Thank you.
My mother will be so happy.
You’re leaving this afternoon.
Three o’clock.
Today?
But there’s still a chance that he could talk.
Can you believe this faggot?
He likes prison so much he wants to stay.
Get your things ready.
And remember, Molina, whatever you think you saw here, nobody cares.
And no more hanky-panky with the boys.
You sure about this?
Sooner or later, he’ll lead us to them.
After all, he’s a woman in love.
[Valentín] Don’t be sad.
I’m not. I’m happy for you.
Now you can start a new life.
Join a political group.
Get out and march with your gay brothers and sisters.
I’m sorry, Valentín, it’s too late for me to become a revolutionary.
But you survived in a place that no one is supposed to leave alive.
You can’t tell me that didn’t change you.
It hurts me to leave you all alone in this cell.
No one around to take care of you.
I’m getting out of here.
I’m not going to die like the professor, without passing on the information I have.
I’m not.
Valentín.
I want to ask you for a going-away present.
Something we didn’t do, although we got up to much worse.
A kiss.
It’s true.
We never did.
Mm.
You want it now?
But… we don’t have much time.
And we still have to finish the movie.
Yes.
Come here.
[suspenseful music plays]
♪ Sooner or later
you’re certain to meet ♪
♪ In the bedroom, the parlor
or even the street ♪
♪ There’s no place on earth
you’re likely to miss ♪
♪ Her kiss ♪
♪ Sooner or later
in sunlight or gloom ♪
♪ When the red candles
flicker ♪
♪ She’ll walk in the room ♪
♪ And the curtains will shake ♪
♪ And the fire will hiss ♪
♪ Here comes her kiss ♪
♪ And the moon grows dimmer ♪
♪ At the tide’s low ebb ♪
♪ And her black beads shimmer ♪
♪ And you’re aching to move
but you’re caught in the web ♪
♪ Of the Spider Woman ♪
♪ In her velvet cape ♪
♪ You can scream ♪
♪ But you cannot escape ♪
♪ Sooner or later
your love will arrive ♪
♪ And he touches your heart ♪
♪ You’re alert and alive ♪
♪ And there’s only one pin
that can puncture such bliss ♪
♪ Her kiss ♪
♪ Sooner or later,
you bathe in success ♪
♪ And your minions salute,
they say nothing but “yes” ♪
♪ But your power is empty,
it fades like the mist ♪
♪ Once you’ve been kissed ♪
♪ And the moon grows dimmer ♪
♪ At the tide’s low ebb ♪
♪ And your breath
comes faster ♪
♪ And you’re aching to move
but you’re caught in the web ♪
♪ Of the Spider Woman ♪
♪ In her velvet cape ♪
♪ You can run, you can scream ♪
♪ You can hide ♪
♪ But you cannot ♪
♪ Escape ♪
You?
I had to be sure you were safe.
[wings fluttering]
[tense music playing]
Please, I have waited to find love my entire life.
But now that I have, you ask me to give it up.
If you take Armando, you also kill me.
No!
I love you.
I love you too.
[birds chirping]
[insects chirping]
[sobs]
[Kendall gasps]
[Valentín] So the curse was broken.
[Luis] No. It was fulfilled.
Aurora did love Kendall, just in a different way.
[shushes]
[Valentín] That’s quite a twist.
[Luis] Not really.
Homosexuals always die in Hollywood movies.
Most of the time, they kill themselves.
No. He gave his life for a cause.
Because of his sacrifice, the village will continue to be protected.
No.
He died for love.
Aurora recognizes the Spider Woman for who she truly is, her greatest enemy, and her greatest friend.
She’s death and life.
She saved an entire village and asked for so little in return.
Just a kiss.
Through her tears, Aurora begins to smile.
There’s some kind of happiness for each of us.
Life is good, and that good is love.
[ensemble music playing]
[singers] ♪ Her name is Aurora ♪
[vocalizing]
A true Hollywood ending.
I told you, it’s no Citizen Kane.
Call it kitsch, call it camp, I don’t care.
I love it.
[kisses]
[sighs]
When I was with the warden, I got the feeling that he was afraid.
Yeah.
Things are moving fast.
And if I pass on your information, would they move faster?
Maybe.
And one day you might be free.
[Castellanos] Prisoner 57884, Luis Molina, coming out.
I’ll do whatever you tell me.
[cell door clanking]
Time to go, Molina.
Thank you.
So you won’t forget me.
There’s no danger of that.
I’m gonna miss you, Molinita.
Red’s your color.
[cell door opens]
It always was.
[door slams]
[door locks]
[metal railings clanking]
[distant siren wailing]
[man over PA announcing indistinctly]
[officers shouting indistinctly]
Mama.
[laughs] Luis?
Uh-hmm.
Am I dreaming?
No, Mama.
It’s me.
[sobs] I’m home.
Hi.
[Alfonso] Revolution… it’s nothing but radicals and fairies.
A bunch of spoiled brats.
Take down the generals?
[laughs] Forget it.
They’ll be crushed.
Their blood will be flowing in the streets.
You’ll see.
[Luis clears throat]
[glass clinking]
A toast, if I may.
To dear Aunt Chicha, and to the love and care she’s shown her beloved sister.
To Chicha.
[all] To Chicha.
[glasses clanking]
[woman on phone]
Call back tomorrow.
Two o’clock.
[camera clicks]
Gabriel.
Hello.
Hi.
I can’t stay long.
It’s our busiest time.
Oh. You look well.
How are you?
How’s the family?
Fine. Fine.
Did you get my letters?
Yes.
Oh. I hope they weren’t too de trop.
As the French would say, “too much.”
[laughs] No, no.
I enjoyed them very much.
Oh.
Well, you never wrote back.
I’ve been busy.
With the family, I imagine.
Double shifts at work.
Did you ever think about me?
I should probably get back.
Because I thought about you… a lot.
How you would give me just enough to keep me interested… and not an inch more.
I’m sorry, Luis.
I’m just an ordinary man and I don’t understand–
Yes, you do.
You understand very well.
You let me adore you and you enjoyed it.
But you never told me, or thanked me.
Please, don’t come here again.
[dramatic music playing]
[distant helicopter blades whirring] I used to wave to you every day.
[rotary dial spins]
[woman on phone] Yes?
[Luis] The professor says hello.
I love you so much, Mama.
If I’m not home by the time you’re reading this, it means I’ve been arrested.
Only, this time, for something much more serious.
If I do go away, I know Aunt Chicha will always be there for you.
When I first went to prison, I thought my life was over.
It was just beginning.
I learned about dignity in that most undignified place.
[vehicle horn honks]
I had always believed nothing could ever change for me.
And it made me feel sorry for myself.
One ticket, please.
But I can’t live like that now.
Thank you.
[snarling]
[man on movie]
Come on, come on.
Careful, careful! Stay back.
[snarling continues]
[man on movie]
Hey, come on! Back up.
Would you back up, please?
[snarling continues]
[man on movie] Go through this
Hey, Oliver!
[snarls loudly]
[Oliver] Yeah.
[man on movie screen] Bring the… [indistinct]
[no audible dialogue]
[snarling loudly]
[snarling continues]
[man on movie]
Yeah, that’s fine.
Hey! Come on!
[man on movie screaming]
[snarling intensifies] We have to go.
What?
Now!
[tense music playing]
[man on movie continues screaming]
Hurry!
[officer 1] Stop!
Stop! Do you hear me?
[officer 2] Stop, stop!
[officer 1] Stop!
[officer 2] Stop!
[police siren wailing]
[groans]
[tires screech]
[officer] Freeze!
Don’t move! Don’t shoot him.
We need him alive.
Come on! Come on!
Hurry!
Stop!
[breathing heavily]
Hurry up!
Come on!
[officer] No!
[gunshots] Go, go, go, go!
[Luis breathing heavily]
[officer] Stay back.
Get back. Move back.
[breathing heavily]
[officer] Get back.
[soft groaning]
[soft music playing]
[grand music playing]
♪ Optimistic endings ♪
♪ Passionate romances ♪
♪ Beautifully beefy heroes ♪
♪ Taking
death-defying chances ♪
♪ Only in the movies ♪
♪ Decorous Madonnas ♪
♪ Totally compliant ♪
♪ Challenging the villain
bravely ♪
♪ Both high-busted
and defiant ♪
♪ Only in the movies ♪
[singers] ♪ Only in the movies ♪
♪ But marble floors
to glide on ♪
♪ And loop the loops
to ride on ♪
♪ And sultry girls
beginning some beguine ♪
[singers vocalizing]
♪ I found, as I grew older ♪
♪ And life became much colder ♪
♪ Were, to my sorrow ♪
♪ Nowhere to be seen ♪
♪ And so I sprayed
a little perfume ♪
♪ Sprayed a little perfume ♪
♪ Dabbed a little powder ♪
♪ Dabbed a little powder ♪
♪ And suddenly
the muted strings ♪
♪ Began to play
a little louder ♪
♪ And though I knew
the difference ♪
♪ I kept on pretending ♪
♪ I was in the movies ♪
♪ But everything changed
when I met you ♪
♪ You’ve changed my life
somehow ♪
♪ Everything changed
when I met you ♪
♪ I find I walk in ♪
♪ Technicolor now ♪
[waltz instrumental music playing]
[Luis laughs]
[gunshot]
♪ And as this princess
lay dying ♪
♪ She raised her lovely head ♪
♪ And as her lover
knelt beside her ♪
♪ This is what she said ♪
♪ Looking into those
tender brown eyes ♪
♪ Of his, she cried ♪
♪ “Viva la guerra” ♪
♪ “Viva la revolución” ♪
♪ “Viva…” ♪
♪ Whatever it is ♪
[gasps]
No!
[singers]
♪ Her name was Molina ♪
♪ Her name was Molina ♪
♪ Her name was Molina ♪
[grand music continues]
[music concludes]
[clicks]
[indistinct chatter in Spanish]
[man laughs]
[man] The New York Times.
[prisoners cheering and whistling]
[man laughs]
[sniffs]
We made it, my love.
We made it.
[prisoners singing in Spanish]
[prisoners chanting]
Argentina! Argentina!
[prisoners yelling, cheering]
[car horns honking]
[singing, cheering continues]
[singing, cheering fades]
[melancholic music playing]
[orchestral music playing]
[jazz music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[upbeat jazz music playing]
[music fades]
