Kiss of the Spider Woman
Tags: avant garde

Plot synopsis:
The film tells of two very different men who share a prison cell in Brazil during the Brazilian military government: Valentin Arregui, who is imprisoned (and has been tortured) due to his activities on behalf of a leftist revolutionary group, and Luis Molina, a pederast in prison for having sex with an underage boy.
Molina passes the time by recounting memories from one of his favorite films, a wartime romantic thriller that's also a Nazi propaganda film. He weaves the characters into a narrative meant to comfort Arregui and distract him from the harsh realities of political imprisonment and the separation from his lover, Marta. Arregui allows Molina to penetrate some of his defensive self and opens up. Despite Arregui occasionally snapping at Molina over his rather shallow views of political cinema, an unlikely friendship develops between the two.
As the story develops, it becomes clear that Arregui is being poisoned by his jailers to provide Molina with a chance to befriend him, and that Molina is spying on Arregui on behalf of the Brazilian secret police. Molina has namely been promised a parole if he succeeds in obtaining information that will allow the secret police to find the revolutionary group's members.
Molina falls in love with Arregui, and Arregui responds after a fashion, culminating in a physical consummation of their love on Molina's last night in prison. Molina is granted parole in the hopes Arregui will reveal information about his contacts when he knows Molina will be out of prison. Arregui provides Molina with a telephone number and message for his comrades. Molina at first refuses to take the number, fearing the consequences of treason, but he relents, and he and Arregui bid farewell with a kiss.
In the final scenes, Molina calls the telephone number, and a meeting is arranged with the revolutionary group. But the secret police have had Molina under surveillance, and a gun battle ensues, with the revolutionaries, assuming Molina has betrayed them, shooting him. As he wanders the streets wounded, the policemen catch up with him and demand that he disclose the telephone number in exchange for them taking him to the hospital for treatment, but Molina refuses and succumbs to his wounds. On the orders of the police chief (Milton Gonçalves), the policemen dump Molina's body in a rubbish pit and fabricate a story about his death and involvement with the revolutionary group.
Meanwhile, back in the prison Arregui is being treated after being tortured once again. As the doctor administers him morphine to help him sleep, risking his job in the process, Arregui escapes into a dream where he is on a tropical island with Marta.

Review: 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.
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.
Reading the other reviews, I see that homophobes have been duly warned about this movie, so I won't say anything about the relationship between the two men beyond that it is complex and beautiful.What interests me more for the purposes of this little blurb is that no one has commented on how the "film within a film" (much like the "play within a play" in Hamlet) reflects the actual events unfolding in the prison cell.
Molina (William Hurt) is ostensibly retelling his favorite film to entertain Valentin (Raul Julia) and make the time pass more quickly, but he himself admits that he "embroiders" the story to make it more real.
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 filmso 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..
A homosexual man named Luis Molina (Oscar-Winner:William Hurt) is in prison for having sex with a minor and Valentin Arregui (The late Raul Julia) is a political prisoner for the revolutionary group.
in essence this movie is about two men sharing a prison cell in a Brazil,one a homosexual,one a political prisoner.each has his own way of dealing with the situation they're in.eventually they begin to understand each other and bond.that isn't the whole story of course.this was quote a compelling an d moving film in my opinion.Raul Julia and William Hurt play the the two cell mates and both deliver powerful performances.it's a testament to the strong writing and the direction that a movie that essentially takes place in one setting(a jail cell)for the bulk of the running time can be so compelling.if you're expecting a fast paced action packed movie though,look elsewhere.this one is all about the story and the characters.for me,Kiss of the Spider Woman is an 8/10.
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.
The only thing that relieves the static nature of the film are the dreams and flashbacks that add some much needed color to the story.Otherwise, it's a study of relationships--a gay man and a straight man share a prison cell in South America and the only thing that keeps the gay man in a survival mode is recalling in detail tacky movies he's seen in the past--and thus the title, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.WILLIAM HURT does the campy role well and was rewarded with a Best Actor Oscar while RAOUL JULIA is the straight man who gradually comes to love and respect his cellmate for the human being that he is, letting go of his homophobic attitude long enough to share a tender moment with a gay man who has come to love him and who decides not to betray him, as the authorities hoped he would when they planted him in the cell.It's a strange, quirky story, certainly not for everyone's taste and it took courage to make the film in the first place, knowing it would have limited appeal at the box-office.I just never found it to be the exceptional film some are calling it..
Raul Julia and William Hurt play Valentin Arregui and Luis Molina, cell-mates in a South American jail.
William Hurt is brilliant as the homosexual prisoner, who's only escape from his sad reality is to talk about an old movie he once saw.
William Hurt and Raul Julia, the former of whom deservedly won the Oscar for a real lived-in and nuanced but powerful performance, have electric chemistry and the film is wholly indebted to their commitment to their characters to make it work.
Kiss of the Spider Woman - 1985 - with Raul Julia, William Hurt and Sonia Braga.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is a powerful and disturbing film made along the lines of MISSING (1982 - Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek), in that the story centers around a military government in a South American country and its involvement with its citizens.
William Hurt (Oscar winner) is his homosexual cell-mate, in prison for a crime of statutory rape, whom the government manipulates to get at Julia's character.
Two social outcasts, Molina (William Hurt), and Valentin (Raul Julia) share a prison cell in this bleak character study that says a lot about how mainstream social institutions vilify nonconformists.
Molina, whose mannerisms and dialogue clearly reveal his homosexual inclination, loves to describe his favorite film to Valentin, a political prisoner who is straight, but takes Molina's gayness in stride.
There's an obvious parallel between Molina and Leni, and their political liaisons.The Nazi film provides viewers with much needed diversion from the static scenes in the prison cell.
This is a story that unfolds in a squalid prison cell, so the movie rests on the performances of William Hurt and Raul Julia.
Up until late in the film, the only times it's not set there is when either of the men is taken out to be questioned by authorities or when the transgender prisoner (William Hurt) tells tales--an adventure story involving spies, the Nazis and a gorgeous lady as well as a later tale about a Spider Woman.All of this sounds like a rather dreadful idea for a film or play as it's a prison film involving torture, illness and the like, but it manages to work due to good acting by Hurt and Raul Julia (his cell-mate) as well as some interesting plot twists.
After all, this IS set in an oppressive South American prison where torture and the like are commonplace.By the way, although William Hurt was excellent and received the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance, it is odd that he doesn't seem the least bit like a Latino....not the least..
In 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', two men, a political prisoner and a homosexual (the latter played by William Hurt), share a cell in a Latin American gaol; the latter tells stories in the manner of B-movie screenplays (hence the film's title), sells secrets to the authorities and eventually, falls in love.
If you know what is good for you, only watch this movie if your idea of entertainment is to explore a very narrow, stereotypical view of what will happen to two men in prison if one is already gay to begin with..
In a South American prison, swishy gay window-dresser William Hurt (as Luis Molina) tries to seduce straight cell-mate Raul Julia (as Valentin Arregui), a political prisoner.
The ending is open to interpretations beyond the obvious; in my mind, Hurt goes back to escape the confines of life with Julia as the woman of his dreams...********* Kiss of the Spider Woman (5/13/85) Hector Babenco ~ William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Jose Lewgoy.
His cell mate is William Hurt's Luis Molina: an effeminate, shaven, thin and softly spoken cross dressing homosexual; someone that basks in the glory of being able to recite meaty descriptions of old romance films they've seen many-a time; the sorts of films that come across as silly to some but glorious in their themes, ideas and content to others.
This is a dramatic unfolding of events, as suddenly and jarringly, it gives the audience ammunition to want him to survive the film – something is suddenly at stake, and his well-being as well as happiness lies at the end of this journey if only he can get through.Kiss of the Spider Woman is an interesting prison drama, the sort that doesn't really allow its characters to be free even if they have ventured outside of the prison, or indeed the prison cell.
Hurt, once released, lives out - in real life - the fantasy that he spun in his lonely prison cell.I particularly enjoyed the final poetic dream-like scene, where Valentin (Raul Julia) lies beaten (close to death) and after being given morphine by a compassionate doctor (who could be punished for such a routine gesture), slips into his unconscious dream..
Hurt won a well-deserved Oscar as the gay prisoner, Molina, but Raul Julia is equally fine in the less splashy role (Sonia Braga appears in each of the separate narratives, becoming the unifying link between them).The film itself exhibits surprising freedom and range despite being confined within a prison cell.
The two towering performances – William Hurt's feminine gay storyteller, and Raul Julia's angry but frail (emotionally and physically) leftist are by far the best work either has done on film.The intricacies of their slowly evolving relationship are complex, powerfully moving, and sometimes disturbing, And while probably 60% of the film takes place in one room, the film never feels like a play.
And, on top of that, Hurt's performance greatly marred what was basically a fascinating motion picture that had a lot of potential.The way I see it, awarding Hurt with his Oscar for playing Luis Molina was, perhaps, one of the biggest and stupidest blunders ever made by the Academy Awards Committee, ever, in all of movie-history, in fact.Kiss Of The Spider Woman's story was basically quite a simple one - Set mainly within the sordid confines of a dreadful Brazilian prison, 2 men, one straight, one gay, share the same filthy cell together.The straight man, a journalist, is a political prisoner working for a leftist anti-government revolutionary group.
His name is Valentin Arrigui and he is regularly beaten and tortured by the prison guards who want him to name names and point fingers, which he adamantly refuses to do.The gay man, a window-dresser who likes to molest minors, is really of no consequence at all, and, yet, he is the focus of this film's story.
His name is Luis Molina and the prison guards generally leave him alone, except when they decide that they can, perhaps, use him to their advantage.To pass the time away in their dingy, little cell, Luis likes to recount aloud detailed stories from his favorite American movies (which imaginatively includes visual sequences), especially ones that are highly-romantic in nature.At present Luis has focused his attention on recalling a WW2 Thriller that's filled with all sorts of nasty, Nazi propaganda (thrown in for good measure).
Luis Molina (William Hurt) and Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia) are cell mates in a Latin American prison.
The plot seems to progress (especially at the beginning) at a snail's pace and, with the majority of the movie taking place within the same locale, Kiss of the Spider Woman can be so tedious and un-engaging as to make the viewer feel trapped in their own prison watching the film.
Take for instance this "Kiss of the Spider Woman", the name alone already is a bit 'weird', but so is the entire movie.Luis Molina and Valentin Arregui are cell mates in a South American prison.
One of the elements which makes the story interesting is the parallel between Valentin's predicament as a political prisoner and the film described by Molina which has fascist overtones.Much of the film is about the relationship between the prison-mates as much as a character study.
At one point, Valentin rages at him "You sound just like a...!" to which Molina responds "Say it, just like a woman." But over time, a strange friendship of mutual trust and respect evolves between the two men, and Valentin finds there is more to Molina than at first meets the eye.A very different and interesting film with absolute first-rate performances by the two leads but not for all tastes and certainly not for those uninterested in material which explores homosexuality.
The stories Molina weaves echo and even foreshadows the events taking place in the isolated prison cell and though the friendship soon leads to something more, the characters are so wonderfully three-dimensional even the most squeamish of audiences won't mind tender moments shared between the two male leads.Raul Julia's Valentin is head strong and disciplined; trying with all his will to undermine the government's ominous authority.
By the end of the film Luis is changed by his relationship with Valentin, so much so that he aids him in his fight not out of a renewed political awakening but out of a need to find worth in life though unrequited love.Kiss of the Spider Woman can be slow at times and suffers from some pedestrian direction by Hector Babenco.
Segments featuring the actual "Spider Woman" (Braga) are like watching mediocre Guy Maddin movies; there's artistry clearly at work but it's abundantly plain there was no budget.Despite this, the film remains an important and interesting little character piece that highlights gay issues and specifically gay love at a time few others did.
Complex, well-performed duet from director Hector Babenco focusing on the relationship between a gay movie-lover and a political prisoner serving time as inmates in a South American jail.
Basically in Brazil, set during the Brazilian military government, in a prison cell are two unlikely cell mates, Valentin Arregui (The Addams Family's Golden Globe nominated Raul Julia) who is imprisoned (and has been tortured) due to his activities on behalf of a leftist revolutionary group, and homosexual Luis Molina (Oscar and BAFTA winning, and Golden Globe nominated William Hurt) who is imprisoned for having sex with an underage boy.
Hurt definitely deserved his Oscar for playing a wonderfully flamboyant gay man, Julia is equally fantastic as his reactionary political prisoner cell mate, together as the pair sharing a cell in a South American jail they really convince you of their growing friendship and further affectionate relationship with each other.
The film is all about the two men in their cell and their interactions, mixed with some political subtext, but it also fantastically mixes the harsh squalid reality of prison life with the juxtaposed dream-like monochrome fantasy world imagined by the stories lovingly told by the leading gay character, it is a terrific drama film.
A political prisoner Molina (Raul Julia) and a gay man Valentin (William Hurt) share a cell in some unnamed Lainto country (it was shot partially in Brazil).
His character is supposed to like it, but I guess Julia can't put it across (he shouldn't have taken the role if he was that uncomfortable kissing Hurt).The film is very overpraised--it won a well-deserved Oscar for Hurt but nominating it for best screenplay, director and picture (!!!) was a little bit ridiculous.Worth seeing, but no great masterpiece like some people are saying..
Their unlikely friendship is defined through the realities of Valentin and the fantasy world that is created by Luis using the scenes and plots from a Nazi Propaganda film.
Luis is telling the story of the film to escape the reality and creates an alternative world both for Valentin and himself.
In a character oriented film like this, it would be such a shame for William Hurt not to get the Best Actor in a Leading Role Award.
Other than the films that are told by Luis, Kiss of the Spider Woman takes place mostly in a prison cell except for the last 15 minutes.
William Hurt plays Luis Molina, a homosexual who is being held in a South American prison peppered with political prisoners, and is sharing a cell with Valentin Arregui, who happens to be one of those political prisoners.
To me the movie was overlong (about 45 minutes too long) and very dull at times and the characterization was stereotype at best.The character of William Hurt is a homosexual and Raul Julia plays a political prisoner.Yes,the performances are pretty good,especially Raul Julia who is always convincing but he looks too much like Che Guevara (this was probably the intention of the director).We never get to find out in which country the movie takes place which doesn't help the realistic view of it all.Another very annoying part is the fact that everybody speaks English.Okay,it's an American movie but if you want to make a realistic movie about prison life and human emotions you must at least speak in the native language.This is something that nobody seems to understand in Hollywood or anywhere else for that matter.
A transexual Luis Molina(William Hurt) proceeds to tell his not so thrilled prison mate, political prisoner Valenti(Raul Julia) stories of a Nazi propaganda film Molina saw earlier.
Despite the dissapointment at the end, this is still a great film, thanks to the performances from Hurt and Julia(the former deservingly won an OScar for the role).