Kiss of the Spider Woman

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function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write("<a href=javascript:popUp('http://buybox.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=reelmoviecriticc&link_code=xsc&creative=23424&camp=2025&path=/dt/assoc/tg/aa/xml/assoc/-/B00000F4IU/reelmoviecriticc/ref=ac_bb1_,_amazon')><img src=http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy1.gif border=0 alt='Buy from Amazon.com' ></a>"); document.close(); </script> <noscript> <form method="POST" action="http://buybox.amazon.com/o/dt/assoc/handle-buy-box=B00000F4IU"> <input type="hidden" name="asin.B00000F4IU" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="tag-value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="hidden" name="tag_value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="image" name="submit.add-to-cart" value="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/add-to-cart.gif"> </form> </noscript>  </B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>Kiss Of The Spider Woman (R) ***1/2</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Brenda Sexton</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>A penetrating kiss</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="593" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> Luis Molina:  William Hurt</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Valentin Arregui:  Raul Julia</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Leni/Marta/Spider Woman:  Sonia Braga</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Director:  Hector Babenco</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>                     </div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line:</B> Kiss of the Spider Woman is an intense psychological drama about two inmates in a South American prison who are as different from each other as possible; one is a political prisoner with inexorable convictions, the other a homosexual sensualist, a dreamer.  Forced into their perpetual cohabitation, a friendship and love ultimately develops between them. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Luis Molina (William Hurt) is imprisoned for sexual impropriety with a young male.  Molina is a dreamy, sensual homosexual who has decorated his half of the prison cell with draping fabric, candles, and photos of Hollywood sirens. He exudes creativity, emotion vulnerability and even whimsy in this filthy, bleak environment. His cell mate, Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia), is an often-beaten political prisoner with ideals and machismo, willing to sacrifice his life for his political convictions.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> Valentin is bewildered and somewhat repulsed by Molina-while Molina seems pleased to have some company and an audience for his story telling.  Molina transports them both into Nazi-occupied Paris through his recounting of a favorite film.  Molina relishes the romance of the story while Valentin is horrified to realize it is a pro-Nazi propaganda film. Molina only sees romance where Valentin sees only politics.</div> <bR> <div> Over time, Valentin accepts Molina and appreciates his kindness. The most powerfully tender scene occurs when Valentin becomes horribly sick from eating poisoned food and Molina cares for him as a mother would her child.Valentin is so ashamed and Molina pours love all over him as he cleans him up gently. Molina is clearly falling in love with Valentin and this creates a romance of drama and intrigue comparable to his film fantasy.  Ultimately they are both destroyed by the strong arm of the tyrannical South American regime.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It:</B> The confines of a prison cell force the meeting, accepting and ultimate blending of two disparate worlds in this film. Molina has absolutely no political convictions and is purely driven by the heart and his emotions.  He prefers a life imbued with dreams and fantasy. Valentin is a journalist looking for the cold hard facts of reality.  He does have a heart, but will sacrifice it for a greater cause.  This film captivates us in creating a believable developing friendship and love between two very different types of people.</div> <bR> <div> William Hurt gives a highly accomplished performance of a sensual homosexual without falling prey to the seductions of overdone stereotypes.  He is masterful in his sensitivity and graceful movements, portraying Molina as an emotional, gentle soul who cannot help but give love, no matter how harshly rejected he may be by Valentin.  The same subtlety can be attributed to Raul Julia's performance of a macho political prisoner.  He does not exaggerate the role and this believably enables him to open up the character to accept and finally love Molina.  Both performances are superb.</div> <bR> <div> The vagueness of the political issues and even the actual South American city or country adds to the focus on the individuals as the center and course of the drama.  Background information, home life, careers-it's all immaterial to the story and its absence adds to the power of the developing relationship between these two initially different men.</div> <bR> <div> First released in 1985 with its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, <I><B>Kiss of the Spider Woman</B></I> was the first independent film ever to receive Academy Award Nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay.  William Hurt won the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Molina.  This movie is an icon of the burgeoning independent film industry which, despite struggles, has seen its strength and influence continue to solidify since this film's premiere 16 years ago.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="587"><div> <B>Brenda Sexton © 2001</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:brendasext@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:brendasext@aol.com"><U><U>brenda@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography:</div> <bR> <div> William Hurt: Body Heat, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist</div> <bR> <div> Raul Julia: Panic in Needle Park, One From The Heart, The Escape Artist</div> <bR> <div> Sonia Braga: Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, The Milagro Beanfield War, </div> <div> Angel Eyes</div> <bR> <div> Director Hector Babenco:  Pixote, Ironweed, At Play in the Fields</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>