Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541514
IT'S ARGENTINA IN 1981 during a brutal military dictatorship. Political dissident Valentin and a gay department store window dresser named Molina are forced to be cellmates. Molina survives the times dwelling in an internalized fantasy world of old movies, so he invites the taciturn Valentin to "watch" his favorite 1940s musical film with him right there in the cell. "How?" Valentin asks. "I will tell you the story," Molina responds, "and our imaginations will do the rest." Cue the first musical number in our film: We meet glamorous musical star Ingrid Luna, as played by Jennifer Lopez MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY, WAS HOME BASE for all non-musical scenes in our film, including the interior cell soundstage set, as seen on the previous page. The massive and dauntingly decrepit Carcel de Miguelete (also previous page), built in 1888, provided the interior and exterior prison location sets. Supervising Art Director Maite Zugarramurdi, construction coordinator Federico Forcell, and lead painter Guillermo Stoll with their teams worked wonders overhauling the decayed, stripped out and pigeon- infested locale to suit our needs. AS THE DAYS DRAG ON in the cell, the two men become more obsessed with the movie tale, growing a bit closer in the process. The musical film's settings roll out: Aurora's penthouse suite (above), a tres chic ballroom (far right), a luxurious hotel suite (right and bottom far right), the sinister jungle cottage (below right) and a photographer's darkroom (below). All are designed in the spare, stylized shorthand of 1940s movie soundstage sets.