Lovers At Every Table, Spies In Every Corner

I am currently enrolled in a class in which we study the famous collaborations that occurred between choreographers (Graham, Balanchine), artists (Picasso, Noguchi), designers (Chanel), dancers, and so on in dance history. Our class has spent a great deal of time focusing on the dynamics between those involved in the creation of a production, and perhaps this is why I feel so inclined to comment on the interesting collaboration that occurred between director Hector Babenco and writer Manuel Puig. "Kiss of the Spider Woman,"a multi-faceted novel about two men, Valentin, a dedicated political activist, Molina, a romantic homosexual, both forced to share the same jail cell, seemed to me an unlikely candidate for a film adaptation. It relies on literary tools to tell the story that could not be reproduced on film; for example, Puig has chosen to include a number of lengthy footnotes that would not be appropriate in a movie. In order to create a successful film from the story, it would be nesscesary to cut a number of elements, and so it does not surprise me that Puig was unhappy with the outcome of the adaptation. What does surprise me is his involvement in the film.

It is my understanding that traditionally most authors remain relatively uninvolved in the production process, however, as we discussed in class, Puig was actively involved. While the film was considered to be a success (it was the first independent movie nominated for an oscar and actor William Hurt, who played Molina, won best actor) Puig was openly dissatisfied with the outcome. He calls the film "a hodge podge without the slightest subtlty." I later learned that Hurt too was unhappy with Babenco and that actress Sonia Braga (Leni Lamaisa, Marta, Spider Woman) only accepted her role after he had agreed to expand it.

While it is nearly impossible to have a flawless collaboration between two individuals, let alone an entire cast, from what I have learned in my other class, it seems that the best productions are the result of fairly harmonious relationships. Yet here we have two headstrong individuals with discordant visions that were still able to create something successful. It is clear from Puig's statements that he feels his vision for the "Kiss of the Spider Woman" was not executed properly, which leads me to believe that while he certainly had a hand in the production process, the final say belonged to Babenco. It seems that while the book belonged to Puig, the film clearly belonged to Babenco.

Babenco must have had a great deal of respect for Puig, or at least his writing, to have chosen to create a film from his novel and Puig clearly had a vested interest in the adaptation, however this initial respect must have faded once the process began. I speculate that this dissagreement may have been rooted in the audiences Babenco and Puig are accustomed to targeting their material towards. As an author, Puig is used to writing for a well-informed, literate audience, while Babenco is used to the cinema crowd. It is clear through his lack of "subtlty" that Babenco relies on easily perceptible and sometimes obvious visuals, which no doubt directly clash with Puig's intended abiguity.

In my opinion, the film could have benifitted from a more balanced collaboration. I think this would have rid the movie from moments of over-explicitness, however in order to achieve this balance a mediating third party would have been nessicary and would have most likely further complicated the process.