Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

Director: Hector Babenco
Starring: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga 
Duration: 120'

Written in 1976 by the expatriate Argentinian author Manuel Puig, the «Kiss of the Spider Woman» arrived on the silver screen as an independent production having already triumphed in the Cannes Film Festival and having won four Oscar nominations, one of which rightfully turned into a golden statue for William Hurt. His performance in the role of an imprisoned homosexual in a country in Latin America and his complex relationship with the political prisoner (the remarkable Raul Julia) with whom he shares the cell constitute the backbone of a film which talks about friendship, love but also personal responsibility, duty and sacrifice in an astounding way.

Meanwhile, it is fortunate that the film was the «victim» of the most inspired cinematic revolt where the two leading actors decided to switch roles, without the director’s approval, as early as the first day of shooting, creating along the way one of the most paradox and strong «couples» in cinema. As a result of all the above, the brilliant work of Brazilian-origin Hector Babenco managed to take down taboos and change mentalities as much in the independent cinema as in Hollywood itself.

Loukas Katsikas