Kiss of the Spider Woman

A bizarre, evocative film which seems strange even now -- I can't imagine what audiences made of it in 1985.

William Hurt and Raul Julia play cell mates, one gay, the other straight, rotting away in a Latin American prison under the iron thumb of a tyrannical dictatorship. At first, Julia's Latin machismo makes him repelled by Hurt's flamboyant femininity, but the two gradually bond, thrown together as they are, and discover a kind of love that transcends conventions about love and sex and that can probably only exist between two people surviving in extreme conditions.

Hurt, already known as a strapping leading man at the time, took quite a risk playing this fey character, especially at a time when movies still weren't comfortable with mainstream portrayals of gays, but his risk payed off -- he won that year's Best Actor Academy Award and became just about the hottest actor in town for a few years there in the mid-80s. Julia has a much less showy role, but the success of the film is dependent upon the strength of both male leads, and he delivers. Sonia Braga plays the eponymous spider woman, a dream figure cobbled together by both men from their imaginations and memories of old movies.

This film is a big downer, but if you enjoy well-acted, well-written stories, then the depressing ending is worth it.

Grade: A

Slow-paced but amazingly compelling and moving drama, mainly set in the filthy prison cell of a never-named Latin American dictatorship country. It is here that the flamboyant homosexual Molina shares his escape-fantasies with the idealistic (but heterosexual) revolutionary warrior Valentin. The stories they tell, either coming from Molina's vivid imagination or from Valentin's struggling past, all feature a similar woman. This primarily Brazilian film is a quintessential piece of artwork. No wild car-chases, gunfights or steamy sex sequences here but you'll be fascinated by the strong dialogs, the mesmerizing acting performances and the professional directing skills of Hector Babenco. The growing relationship between the two opposite protagonists is masterfully illustrated and the depressing set-pieces only increase your sympathy for the both of them. "Kiss of the Spider Woman" is the only film I've seen so far that successfully implements a complex structure containing flashbacks as well as dream-sequences - and even film-in-film images – without becoming overly confusing. Raul Julia and William Hurt both deliver their finest performances ever, and the latter righteously got rewarded with an Oscar. A definite must see for every demanding fan of film-making.

Babenco's, Kiss of the Spider woman, is one of many forgotten master pieces. Forgotten simply because it's themes, content and style is still too obscure even by todays standards. The movie is a rich myriad of imagery, poetics and emotions which all become thicker and more complex as the movie unfolds.

On the surface, Kiss of the Spider woman, appears as a prison thriller. However what differentiates this movie from other movies of it's genre, is the emotional questions that the movies raises. The movie is a study of moral rights in the modern world. In this movie the two leads are forced to evaluate themselves and rationalise their feelings with one another, this is shown in the way the movie contrasts the politics of the free thinking individual; that being revolution, individual rights of man, people forcing change, with the prejudices of modern society, mainly the modern day fear of homosexuality.

Stylistically the movie is also outstanding, taking an unconventional narrative that mixes the 'dream' with the 'real'. The character of Valentin represents the modern day hero, with his idealism and dreams of change. Where as the character of Luis represents the failed dreams of the individual and the longing for fulfilment.

The Nazi movie that is intertwined within the story, should also merit a comment, as it is through this sub plot where the story is able to ensnare it's audience into a labyrinth like world within a fictitious/mythological past within thirties Europe. The black and white movie, within the movie, 'The kiss of the Spider woman' serves as a continuous reminder of the power of the dream world with that of our everyday reality.

The eighties was a bizarre time for art, there was the prevailing sense of change in the air. With the Cold War coming to an end, there was the popular belief of a new world emerging from the lesson learnt from two world wars. This movie, 'The Kiss of the Spider woman', serves as a cautious warning that mans is a nostalgic yet forgetful beast and that hope of change and the dream of freedom, within a society that is not yet ready to take on all of the social/political dynamics of freedom, remains nothing but a failed romance.

A worthy classic. A movie experience that anyone who loves cinema or is interested in a study of humanity should seek out..

Luis Molina and Valentin Arregui are cell mates in a South American prison. Luis, a trans individual, is found guilty of immoral behavior and Valentin is a political prisoner. To escape reality Luis invents romantic movies, while Valentin tries to keep his mind on the situation he's in. During the time they spend together, the two men come to understand and respect one another.

William Hurt won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film was also nominated for Best Picture (the first independent film to do so -- it lost to "Out of Africa"), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Hurt also won Best Actor at the BAFTA Awards, the 1985 Cannes Film Festival and several other festivals. The film was awarded the inaugural Golden Space Needle award from the Seattle International Film Festival.

William Hurt is incredible, but so is Raul Julia. It seems he is today (2015) best remembered for playing Gomez Addams, but he was so much more than that.

"Spider Woman", although an emotionally draining film, is a true classic. Right from the first scene, you feel the frustration of Valentin and Molina, both outcasts of society, yet for very different reasons.

The acting is nothing less than extraordinary. William Hurt as the lonely homosexual, Molina, the late Raul Julia, as the stern, but deeply caring political prisoner, Valentin, and Sonia Braga, who takes on three different roles, including the title role, and plays them all brilliantly, are what makes this film

so great.

Although Hurt deservingly won the Oscar for Best Actor, the same consideration should have been given to Julia and Braga for their contribution.

If you've seen it, see it again....if you haven't, I highly recommend you do.