Kiss of the Spider Woman [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray] [Criterion Collection]

Hector Babenco's acclaimed, layered political drama, based on a novel by Manuel Puig, charts the relationship between a gay man and an anti-government revolutionary trapped in the same cell in a South American prison. At first, the macho activist Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia) is repulsed by his effeminate cellmate, Luis Molina (William Hurt), who was jailed for sexual activities with an underage boy. He particularly disapproves of Molina's method of escaping from the horrors of prison life: recounting scenes from an old movie about a cabaret singer known as the Spider Woman. Eventually, however, Arregui relents, and he comes to share his own fantasies and memories about a wealthy former lover. The two men form a bond through their common feelings of loss and regret, a point the film emphasizes by having both Arregui's former lover and the Spider Woman portrayed by the same actress (Sonia Braga). The two slowly become friends and develop a relationship deeper than either expected. However, this brief communion is disrupted by the intrusion of the jailers and the discovery of a troubling secret about Molina's real motives, a revelation which could have tragic consequences for both men. Hurt's turn as the tragic yet charming Molina received much recognition, including the Best Actor Oscar, and is matched by equally skillful work from Julia and Braga. The emotional power of Puig's poignant story and the sensitive details of Babenco's intelligent direction won the film both critical acclaim and a larger-than-expected box office.