Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) [R]

William Hurt and Raul Julia play two prisoners in a South American prison. Hurt is Luis Molina, a homosexual jailed for seducing an underage boy. Julia is Valentin Arregui, a political prisoner. They are opposites in almost every way you can think of. At first glance, one might think that this will be a typical movie about learning to get along and creating friendship but this movie is much more than that!

To pass the time, Molina tells Arregui stories from old movies. They all feature a beautiful woman played by Sonia Braga. Arregui at first doesn't want to hear these stories, but after a while he encourages Molina to spin his tales. We all find that we like having stories told to us.

There are twists to the movie. The powers that be are obviously using Molina to get secrets out of Arregui, and a friendship does begin to develop between the two men. But so much more is going on here.

This movie did well for the two leads who are brilliant in their roles: William Hurt rightly won an Academy Award for his performance; this was the breakout movie for Julia. Sonia Braga who is absolutely gorgeous in this movie also saw an improvement in her career.

I didn't think I would like this movie. I mean, come on. Prisoners in South America, politics, and William Hurt as a gay man! But this movie truly moved me. It gets better as it goes along, becoming an excellent movie way before the last scene.

DIRECTOR: Hector Babenco.  CAST: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Jose lewgoy, Nuno Leal Maia, Denise Dumont.

AWARDS: Won Oscar. Another 10 wins and 8 nominations.