Bill Condon’s lavish, soullessly spectacular Kiss of the Spider Woman is an adaptation of the stage musical rather than a remake of Héctor Babenco’s 1985 film.

A daring reimagining of an oft-told story, Kiss Of The Spider Woman features some sensational musical moments that nicely hark back to classic Hollywood, but struggles to reconcile two very different worlds.

The film is great, bristling with ideas and hard-won epiphanies.

Kiss of the Spider Woman shines brightest in the memory or dream sequences, where Molina recounts what he remembers of Ingrid Luna’s film career and weaves it into the terrifying political unrest that is happening just outside the prison walls.