Based on the Novel By . . .
When adapting a novel into film, one must decide what the author found
important in the story and what the audience would appreciate. Therefore, re-writing the
storyline includes additions, omissions, and shifting of event sequence. The retelling of
Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman is no different.
One obvious addition to the film version of this book is that of other characters. In
the book, Molina's friends do not have a voice. Nor does the judge in his court case, his
mother, or Valentin's friends and loved ones. There is also no mention of another prisoner
in the book, as if they are the only two there. Yet, there is a great discussion over a
prisoner that is supposed to be one of Valentin's comrades. He is mentioned in the book
on page 143, but not by name. In the film verison these extra characters are used to color
the dialogue in flashbacks and to be foils for the two main characters. Whereas the
dialogue in the book may be easy to imagine, it does not so easily translate onto the
screen.
Another addition would be that of appearance and clothing. The only indication
we get of appearance is, when at the end, Molina talks about how he felt for his scar and
Valentin points out that he is the one with the scar. Other than that, there are no
descriptions of these main characters. So, it was completely up to the director (and
costumer) to decide how these characters looked and dressed. In the film, Molina wears
earrings, jewelry, and womanly outfits. He is also white; as if a gay man could never
be Latino. Valentin, in the movie, is rough looking with many scars on his face,
wears very simple clothes, and is Latino.
Events have been added to the story to illustrate who the characters are. In the
book, Destino is not told completely by Molina, it is actually told in a footnote in
Chapter 4. This gives a darker image of him. Why would a supposedly good guy like a
Nazi movie so much? In the book, he backs down from telling the rest of it because
Valentin tells him to. But, in the movie, he is relentless. Also, there is no discussion of
how funny the Frenchmen looked in the movie, as there is in the film (Schrader, 20-21).
Valentin makes the decision that this is a Nazi propaganda film because of the description
of the architecture (Puig, 76). This makes Molina look ignorant or uncaring and
Valentin look more of a rebel. Molina never goes to the infirmary for all we know in the
book, but he does in the movie. He is therefore a weak man, like all gays are supposedly.
The fight in the movie during which Valentin throws Molina against the wall does not
happen in the book, but is used in the movie to show how rough the movie character of
Valentin is. In the book he is not so rough as illustrated on page 56 of the text, where he
apologizes for upsetting Molina. To portray Valentin as more of a victim, he shows his
abdomen scars to Molina in the film, whereas there is only one instance of scar
discussion in the book after they make love. Valentin never tosses in his sleep that we
read in the book; he just talks about it. He also never mentions Marta or his girlfriend's
name in the book.
Along with adding elements, one must omit some. One large omission that
screams out is that of the films Molina tells. We only hear of the Spider Woman story and
Destino, the Nazi propaganda film. This retelling completely omits Cat People; the un-
named movie about a racecar driver; The Enchanted Cottage; I Walked With a Zombie;
and Ninotchke. These films in the book are used to describe the character of Molina. To
take them out and make him only tell Destino, makes him out to be a completely different
person altogether, a more frightening person than the multi-faceted one we receive
through the other films.
Some details are omitted when they do not seem important. For instance,
Gabriel's wife makes more than he does and that is why Molina tries to convince him to
go back to school to get a better job (Puig, 68). The letter we find in the movie to
Valentin actually comes in the mail while Molina is singing a bolero and Valentin
actually reads it out to Molina and decifers the code for him (Puig, 133). These make
Molina seem more feminist and assertive in the movie to have him ignore the fact that
Gabriel makes less than his wife and to take the letter and read it (even though Valentin
tells him to read it, he doesn't argue). Another omitted element is that the treat Molina's
mother sends him is not, as in the film, assorted bonbons, but guava paste. This was
omitted most likely because American audiences wouldn't understand the appeal of
guava paste. In the book, Molina helps Valentin write a letter to Marta (Puig, 176). This
does not happen in the film. This shows Valentin to be a less-caring individual.
Otherwise, he would have been persuaded to write or dictate a letter, as he was in the
book. Another omitted instance was that of the discussion of gay men and how Molina is
not a representative, though there are others like him. This was rather key to me since this
omission and his flamboyant portrayal only allow the stereotype to prevail. Also,
Valentin's line of, "You are the Spider Woman" (Puig, 260) was never placed.
Therefore, we only see a hint of Valentin's recognition of Molina's love during his telling
of the Spider Woman story. There are many dream sequences that happen in the book
that are never used in the film, except for Valentin's dream at the very end during which
he enjoys times with Marta who tells him, "This dream is short, but this dream is happy"
(Puig, 281). The dream sequences would have been more telling of the characters,
rather than just their discussion over Destino. But, they were not used and were probably
seen as "fluff."
To allow for artistic freedom, a director or screenplay writer may choose to
completely alter events and items. This was done a great deal in the film version of Kiss
of the Spider Woman. Firstly, the key events that take place in the film only happen
during the telling of Destino. They do not in the book. For instance, Valentin actually
gets sick the first time during the racecar movie (Puig, 114) mentioned above. It is only
Molina who gets ill during Destino. Also, their love scenes (of which there are two in the
book) occur during omitted movies, the first during the telling of I Walked With a
Zombie and the second during the Spider Woman story. The discussion of who either
identifies with was altered as well. In the book, the movie being told is Cat People and
Molina had to decide between Irene (the heroine) or the secretary and Valentin had to
choose between the psychiatrist and Irene's husband (Puig, 25). It is interesting to note
that Molina chose the heroine in this movie because she is who she is and no one can
change her. That is a drastic difference than identifying with the heroine of Destino who
is ignorant and naive. It is also during this scene that the film version changed what
Molina told to make Valentin say, "I'm serious. No food and no naked women"
(Schrader, 18; Puig, 14). In the book, Molina mentions cereal and pancakes and in
the movie he mentions more tantalizing foods like, "canned meat . . . the best cheeses . . .
peaches in syrup." In the movie it is also during the description of the Jews who are
supposedly hoarding all the food. In the book it is during Cat People, when Molina is
telling the very beginning. This change was used mostly because the screenwriter chose
not to incorporate Cat People. In the book, Valentin says he only studied and continues to
study political science. In the movie, he said he was a journalist (Schrader, 20). The
discussion about Gabriel happens in the book during the telling of Destino (Puig, 57)
after Valentin calls it, "Nazi junk." But, in the movie it happens after Molina starts crying
about his mother and then changes the subject to Gabriel (Schrader, 33). The love
scenes they have in the book do not happen right before Molina leaves, as the one scene
does in the film. In the film, Molina is portrayed as a seducer, but in the book it is clear
that it is Valentin's choice.
Though these additions, omissions, and re-orderings create a fluid storyline, they
also change the original story along with its own characterizations, narratives, and intent.
Though the film version of Kiss of the Spider Woman has the same characters by name,
it is its own story. If one wanted to see the book on the screen, one would have not
chosen this. This was definitely an interpretation, not a visual copy.
Bibliography
Puig, Manuel. Kiss of the Spider Woman. New York: Vintage Books, 1980.
Schrader, Leonard. Kiss of the Spider Woman. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1987.