FREE ON YOUTUBE Hector Babenco - Kiss Of The Spider Woman

Kiss Of The Spider Woman is one of those rare, ravishing stories that happen on the side, while something else happens on the surface. There are passages in the film that are completely self-contained, while others only hint - at something outside of the film. The struggle of two personalities, the struggle of two different ways to live life. The decision is not of a sexual nature - which most would expect. The decision lies between bondage and freedom. Hector Babenco's film begins in a prison cell somewhere in South America. A man tells his story. A story composed of memories and fragments, as if we were in a film noir of the 40s - and not in a barren cell. It is the story of a prisoner fleeing into his fantasy. The prisoner's name is Luis (William hurt), an affected homosexual who was imprisoned for sexual "offenses". His cell neighbor is Valentin (Raul Julia), a political prisoner, a macho. He has nothing but contempt for Luis' stories. For Luis' stories, the film uses fantasy sequences to describe them: A Nazi melodrama and the story of a spider woman (played by Sonia Braga). She will become Valentine's lover - reality and dream will mix. It seems as if Kiss Of The Spider Woman is the film about two opposing characters in a prison cell. They have the same experiences day after day and finally accept each other. At this point nothing is revealed, but Babenco's film offers so much more surprises! William Hurt plays Luis differently than anything we know from the cinema. He openly creates a character who comes from the theatre. However, it seems as if he is never out for mere effect. Raul Julia, at the beginning still purely physical, increasingly lends his character a poetry that makes the whole film so exciting! The beautiful Sonia Braga last; she is the spider woman! Kiss Of The Spider Woman was staged in English by the Brazilian Babenco, but still represents the rise of Brazil as a film nation. A film full of insights and surprises, a real discovery!