kenjha A homosexual and a political prisoner bond in a South American prisoner. Hurt is flamboyant as the homosexual, a role that won him an Oscar. While it is an interesting performance, it also comes across as somewhat showy and insincere. Julia is equally good as his cell mate, a gruff fellow who develops a fondness for Hurt. Unfortunately, the talents of the two stars are wasted in a dreary drama that seems to have no narrative flow. Hurt narrates to Julia the plot of a B-movie, and too much time is devoted to boring, melodramatic scenes of this fictitious film within film. Braga is given three roles, but none of them is the least bit interesting.

MartinHafer "Kiss of the Spider Woman" was originally a novel and then a Broadway play--and it's pretty easy to imagine this. That's because almost everything takes place in a prison cell occupied by two men. 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. However, the very overtly gay plot is sure to upset or turn off many viewers and this film certainly is NOT for everyone regardless of the strong gay elements. 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.

popcorninhell The plot behind Kiss of the Spider Woman is much more complex than the almost goofy title would suggest. It's not a low budget science fiction film but rather a two man show largely taking place in a small South American prison. Political firebrand Valentin Arregui (Julia) is tossed into a cell for sedition by the government. He's angry, brash and ready to die for his beliefs. His bunk-mate Luis Molina (Hurt) is a pederast homosexual who is not exactly inclined to politics. He spends his time retelling in fluid detail, the love story of his favorite movie, an unnamed Nazi propaganda film involving a seductive vamp. What starts out as a rocky relationship soon turns into a quaint and ultimately tragic love story where trust is brought to its limits.Based off a book of the same name written by Manuel Puig, Kiss of the Spider Woman leaves much to the imagination; which is kind of the point. Much of the two main character's dialogue tows the line between sub-textual to cryptic and yet so much is said and understood. 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. Valentin however is sequestered from the rest of the prison population and is never seen with anyone else in the prison except his cell-mate. No doubt them bunking together is meant to be a humiliation to Valentin purported by the prison Warden (Lewjoy). As a result, all of Valentin's rage is unfairly released on the kind and loving Molina. William Hurt turns in quite a performance as Julia's foil, moving and speaking with a level that moves beyond homosexual archetypes; a progressive thing for 1985. 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. In fairness to Mr. Babenco, almost the entire film takes place in one prison cell. I'd imagine it'd be hard to fit the two actors, himself, the DP, the AD, the gaffer, the sound mixer, the grip and whatever other crew you'd need into tiny little cage. Occasionally the camera wonders away from the prison into the expressionistic sets of the film in Molina's imagination. Like the characters we get a respite from the imposing prison yet the film simply doesn't take enough chances with the idea. 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. It's a bittersweet, beautiful and haunting tale that shouldn't be overlooked despite mediocre sets and evident thrift. The story has since been made into a musical that achieved success on Broadway and London's West End which makes sense. A story this universal and audacious shouldn't be kept in the confines of a good flick but should be seen in haste in all arty forms.

Michael Neumann Two very different prisoners—a flamboyant homosexual and a hardened political activist—share the same small cell in a nameless Latin American dictatorship, eventually overcoming their mutual hostility to accept what the other has to offer: compassion on the one hand; a political conscience on the other. The reason for their mutual incarceration only becomes clear after half the film is over, but by then the characters are fully drawn: one yearns for freedom while the other dreams of escape, via intimate narration of his favorite movie plot—a romantic melodrama he doesn't recognize as Nazi wartime propaganda.The plot is developed with gradual precision, unlocking layers within layers of contrasts and parallels. In the end the film is a study in opposites: gay and straight; dignity and exploitation; the freedom of daydreams versus the cold reality of imprisonment. 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. Remarkably, it's not the least bit claustrophobic, sagging only in the final scenes, outside the prison walls. Sad and touching, this is a brilliant, bittersweet parable of repression: political and otherwise.