When stuck in a jail cell, it’s better to be stuck with someone you agree with, otherwise, your stay can be quite terrible. But other times, being stuck with someone fundamentally different from you can challenge you to be an entirely new person. Kiss of the Spider Woman is one such film centered on two very different people, but it’s these differences that make a life-changing experience. While telling their stories– Molina with his dramatic romance films, and Valentin with his difficult life story, both through films-within-a film– they finally feel heard by each other and learn to look at life in a different way, much to the disapproval of the fascist dictatorship they live under. Though its escapist approach may suggest otherwise, Kiss of the Spider Woman realistically explores the way storytelling has always meant freedom.

The way Molina’s ending is terribly realistic, while Valentin’s ending is escapist is such a brilliant way to demonstrate how they’ve changed each other’s perspective for the rest of their lives.