Once upon a time... in a tropical island far away, there lived a strange woman…
Overview
The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.0/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.72/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 80
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Héctor Babenco
Production
HB Filmes, Island Pictures
Cast
William Hurt, Raúl Juliá, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves, Miriam Pires, Nuno Leal Maia, Fernando Torres, Patricio Bisso, Herson Capri, Denise Dumont, Nildo Parente, Antônio Petrin, Wilson Grey, Miguel Falabella, Walter Breda, Luis Guilherme, Walmir Barros, Luis Serra, Ana Maria Braga
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A richly acted chamber drama that turns a prison cell into a space for politics, desire, fantasy, and emotional survival. Its blend of harsh realism and romantic escapism is distinctive, even if some elements have aged unevenly.
Best for
viewers who like intimate two-hander dramas
fans of politically charged prison stories
people drawn to queer cinema and identity themes
audiences who appreciate literary adaptations with stylized storytelling
viewers interested in 1980s prestige dramas
Skip if
you want fast pacing or constant plot movement
you are sensitive to dated attitudes toward queer representation
you prefer straightforward realism over melodrama and fantasy
you dislike stagey, dialogue-driven films
Overview
Kiss of the Spider Woman is one of those films that feels larger than its physical setting. Héctor Babenco turns a single prison cell into a pressure cooker where ideology, loneliness, performance, and longing all collide. The film’s most striking idea is that fantasy is not an escape from reality so much as a way of surviving it.
Worth noting
William Hurt and Raúl Juliá give the movie its pulse, with performances that keep the relationship tense, funny, and unexpectedly tender. The film also benefits from its visual confidence: it’s austere when it needs to be, then suddenly lush and theatrical when Molina’s movie memories take over.
Bottom line
Some viewers may find the gender politics and queer representation of the era imperfect or dated, and the ending lands more as elegy than catharsis. Still, it remains a compelling, emotionally layered drama with a strong sense of atmosphere and a memorable central dynamic.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Paul (4★) · 447 likes
How has this Academy Award winning gem gone so largely forgotten by the masses? The gorgeous cinematography, the writing, William Hurt's performance, Hector Babenco's direction, it's masterful.
Paul Elliott (4★) · 364 likes
Kiss of the Spider Woman has the notoriety of being the first independently produced film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar (at the 58th Academy Awards). It's directed by Héctor Babenco, who was one of the first Brazilian filmmakers to gain international critical acclaim, and he communicates the film's themes of the endurance of principles and the transient nature of love with evocative compositions which are adventurously unusual and strangely delightful.
It's an adaptation of Argentine author Manuel… more
Kyle Amato (4★) · 358 likes
So the story of two people trapped in a single room keeping each other sane by fondly remembering movies is hitting different this year
ilsu (4★) · 186 likes
"You think it's easy to find a 'real' man? One who's humbIe and yet has dignity. How many years have I been searching? How many nights? How many faces filled with scorn and deceit?"
I watched Kiss of the Spider Woman mostly because its source novel was written by Manuel Puig — who, fun fact, is one of Wong Kar-wai’s biggest inspirations. Which instantly made me go “okay I have to see what’s going on here.” And I’ll be honest,… more
Rob Patrick (3.5★) · 184 likes
William Hurt should read for audio books. I'd love to be stuck in jail with this guy.