Kiss of the Spider Woman (film)
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| Kiss of the Spider Woman | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Hector Babenco |
| Produced by | Executive Producer: Francisco Ramalho Jr. Producer: David Weisman |
| Written by | Leonard Schrader Story: Manuel Puig |
| Starring | William Hurt Raúl Juliá Sonia Braga José Lewgoy |
| Music by | Nando Cordeiro Michael Jary John Neschling |
| Cinematography | Rodolfo Sánchez |
| Editing by | Mauro Alice |
| Distributed by | Island Alive |
| Release date(s) | United States: July 26, 1985 |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country |  Brazil United States |
| Language | English Portuguese |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Argentina: | 18 |
| Australia: | M |
| Brazil: | 16 |
| Canada (Ontario): | 14 |
| Chile: | 18 |
| Finland: | K-16 |
| Iceland: | 16 |
| Netherlands: | 12 |
| Sweden: | 15 |
| United Kingdom: | 15 |
| United States: | R |
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Portuguese: O Beijo da Mulher Aranha) is a 1985 Brazilian-American drama film. It was directed by Argentine-born Brazilian director Hector Babenco[1], and adapted by Leonard Schrader from the Manuel Puig novel of the same name. William Hurt, Raúl Juliá, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy, and Milton Gonçalves star in the leading roles.
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[edit] Plot
The film tells of the political prisoner Valentin Arregui (Raúl Juliá) and effeminate homosexual and statutory rapist Luis Molina (William Hurt). They share a Brazilian prison cell.
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 the woman he cares about.
Arregui allows Molina to penetrate some of his defensive self and opens up. An unlikely friendship develops between the two prisoners: the dreamer and the political activist.
As the story develops, it's clear that Arregui is being poisoned by his jailers to force him to reveal what he knows. Molina, it seems, may also have ulterior motives.
[edit] Background
The story is a "movie within a movie," featuring Luis Molina episodically telling Valentin Arregui the plot of a fictional movie called Her Real Glory allegedly produced in Germany during the Second World War by the Nazis.
Unlike most such internal presentations, it doesn't matter how the "movie within the movie" ends; the plot is what happens to the prisoners.
[edit] Cast and ratings
- William Hurt as Luis Molina
- Raúl Juliá as Valentin Arregui
- Sonia Braga as Leni Lamaison/Marta/Spider Woman
- José Lewgoy as Warden
- Milton Gonçalves as Secret Policeman
- Míriam Pires as Mother Molina
- Nuno Leal Maia as Gabriel, Molina's friend
- Fernando Torres as Americo
- Patricio Bisso as Greta
- Herson Capri as Werner, Leni's German lover and Chief of Counter-Intelligence in movie fantasy
- Denise Dumont as Michelle, Leni's best friend in movie fantasy
- Antônio Petrin as Clubfoot, Resistance fighter in movie fantasy
- Wilson Grey as Flunky, Resistance fighter in movie fantasy
- Miguel Falabella as Lieutenant
[edit] Adaptations
The film is based on the 1976 novel El beso de la mujer araña (Kiss of the Spider Woman) by Manuel Puig. The Argentinian author was the first to adapt his own novel as a stage play.
A Broadway musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, also based on the same story, was produced in 1993.
[edit] Awards
William Hurt won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Hurt also won Best Actor at the BAFTA Awards, the Cannes Film Festival and several other festivals. The film was awarded the inaugural Golden Space Needle award from the Seattle International Film Festival.[1]
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
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