William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga

Kiss of the Spider Woman starts out simply enough, hemmed in by the narrow walls of a Latin American prison cell. Molina (William Hurt) is telling his new cellmate, Valentin (Raul Julia), his...( read more  read more... ) favorite story. Molina is a delicate homosexual imprisoned for seducing a minor; Valentin is a bearded revolutionary still bleeding from his interrogation. If their film unfolded into the typical prison buddy plot, it'd still be a good movie. But this is a great movie. There are stories twisting within stories, each drawing a new, surprising level of difference between the two heroes: escapism versus realism, romance versus politics, gay versus straight, hero versus coward. As their unstable friendship grows more real, their stories become more vivid--whether Molina's fondly remembered Nazi propaganda noir, Valentin's tortured romantic history, or a tropical island fable told merely to pass the time. (Each substory stars Sonia Braga, a neat bit of casting that further blurs the line between fantasy and reality.) By the end, each man has changed just enough to taste the other's tragedy--a transformation that gives each the strength to define freedom on his own terms, despite the brutality of the prison and the bleak world beyond its walls. --Grant Balfour

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79% liked it

5,631 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

23 critics

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Hector Babenco

Release Date: August 1, 1985

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DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008

Stats: 254 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (254)


  • March 9, 2009
    It's been years since I last saw this. I totally forgot how much I loved and still miss Raul Julia, what a talent. William Hurt is brilliant and I still enjoyed it the second time around. Still liked the story and the premise of it all, still didn't like the ending, but it fit th...( read more)e movie very well. This was great!
  • December 17, 2008
    Saw thiso nVHS many years ago and remember it being a very powerful film, with an amazing cast.
  • September 9, 2008
    an interesting film with two great performances about love and the transcendental power of storytelling. it had a few clumsy moments but overall its greater than the sum of its parts.
  • April 6, 2008
    A wonderful, heartbreaking movie. I bought this on video as a pretentious mid-teenager and I still love it as a pretentious thirtysomething. Perhaps not the greatest prison movie ever made but surely the most moving. William Hurt and Raul Julia are simply magnificent as polar opp...( read more)osites who strike up an unlikely friendship in a Latin American prison cell: the former a homosexual caught soliciting a minor, the latter an angry and torture-weary political prisoner. The final scene, which plays out as the credits roll, is so beautiful, yet bittersweet because we know the escape from pain is both illusory and only temporary.
  • October 3, 2008
    Babenco's jack pot in Hollywood was the death of his Oscar career.So what?Against the norms of studio decisions,Babenco controlled a subject truly remarkable and whoever thinks love and passion was a revolution in Brokeback Mountain,this is the real deal,the deserted souls.A frag...( read more)mentary relationship gives the opportunity to Julia and Hurt to deliver exceptional interpretation of two incarcerated figures.What is fantasy constitutes the unacceptable and yet..so enticingly lustful.A memorable 80's film,different in structure and depth.
  • October 30, 2009
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    "I don't explain my movies, it ...( read more)only ruins the emotion."

    We move pass a cell wall, blank and unkept until we see clothes hung up, photos of movie stars. It all has a woman's touch, but no woman resides in this cell.

    The voice of a man, Molina, talking about his favorite film, going into incredible detail, to his fellow inmate Valentin. Much of Molina's favorite film is weaved in and out of the film itself, giving the viewer two films for the price of one.

    Molina's film is more of a fantasy for the both of them to escape, since they can't escape from their cell. Valentin is imprisoned due to his involvement in some sort of revolution.

    Valentin lacks the idealism for which Molina already has, but Molina is too caught up in the clouds of fantasy to realize the truth that is reality. Fits of rage hit Valentin when Molina tries to cloud his mind with his flights of fantasy.

    It is Molina though who harbors a secret, one that will get him out of jail. Valentin begins to see Molina in a different light, one where he thinks he can trust him. He tells about his girlfriend Lydia and asks Molina to do him a favor by getting in contact with her once he's out. She is part of the revolution as well and the police keep a watch on Molina, waiting for him to make that phone call.

    This film was up for a few Oscars back in 1985. William Hurt won for best actor for which he most certainly deserved. Let's also never forget Raul Julia, a great great actor. The direction is beautiful, the story is inspiring in the way it is creative and complex.
  • October 9, 2009
    One of the masterpieces of Hector Babenco. William Hurt and Raul Julia are excellent. Don't miss Sonia Braga.
  • September 9, 2009
    The William Hurt-Raul Julia tandem makes this film an instant classic. A sweet French ambiance mixed with dismal scenes from a jailhouse creates a whole new atmosphere for avid moviegoers to delve in.
  • September 7, 2009
    My feelings about this one are pretty neutral.
  • August 26, 2009
    Hurt is great in this amazing drama.

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Kiss of the Spider Woman Trivia


  • For what film did William Hurt win his Oscar for Best Actor in?  Answer »
  • Which movie and performer in it,is not based on a comic book character?  Answer »
  • Three Oscar nominations for Best Actor in consecutive years. Who am I and for which film did I win?  Answer »
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