In a south american prison, two prisoners are trying to cope with each other. One of them, Molina (William Hurt) is a homosexual found guilty of corruption of minors. The other, Valentin (Raul Julia), is a political militant, tortured daily by the authorities trying to obtain information on his subversive activities - two very different personalities with one thing in common: they both represent a threat to the State.
Molina, politically disinformed, lives in a delirious world where reality is mixed with scenes from movies he has seen and which he narrates to Valentin during the nights. They are stories of tragic heros and heroins where the most important aspect always is sentimental. Valentin is totally devoted to his cause and discards as a weakness any other sentiment but the one directly related to his political ideas.
Night after night, Molina reconstructs his memories of two filmes in particular. One is a nazi film where the heroine Leni Lanison (Sonia Braga), a french singer passionately in love with a german general (Herson Capri) is imprisoned by the resistance movement. In the other, a spider woman (Sonia Braga) rescues and takes care of a shipwrecked man on a desert island.
Molina's cinematographic delirios and Valentin's physical suffering leads, little by little, to an aproximation of the two. In this process of exchange and identification, their differences are gradually eliminated, their fears and prejudices lessened. Eventually they discover mutual solidairty, respect, dignity and friendship. Valentin discovers - beyond his limited political convictions - the true meaning of life through emotion, the capacity of crying and dreaming. Throughout this, Molina - constantly pressured by the prison director (José Litgow) and by a police agent (Milton Gonçalves) in order for them to obtain information on Valentin's political activities - puts his own life at risk in order to defend his friendship with Valentin.

PRODUCTION NOTES
"The Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Hector Babenco, is based on a novel by Manuel Puig. It received four Oscar indications: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (William Hurt) and Best Adaption of Original Text (Leonard Schrader). A brazilian production, "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" was produced by H.B. Films in association with investors from the city of São Paulo and Embrafilm. The film was produced by Francisco Ramalho Jr. William Hurt, as Molina, and Raul Julio, as Valentin, starred the film together with Sonia Braga, interpreting three different characters, in addition to José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves and Denise Dumont. Co-starring Nuno Leal Maia, Miriam Rios, Fernando Torres, Herson Capri, Patrício Bisso, William Grey, Antoni Petrin, Miguel Falabella and Nildo Parente. WIlliam Hurt and Raul Julia also participated in the production of the film.
The soundtrack is composed by John Neschling in association with Nando Carneiro, in addition to participation by musicians from the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and the singer Tetê Spindola, among others. Director of photography is Rodolfo Sanchez and editing by Mauro Alice. Screenplay by Leonard Schrader, also responsible for the screenplays of "Vivendo na Corda Bamba", "Taxi Driver" and "The Yasuka".
"The Kiss of the Spider Woman" was filmed in the city of São Paulo from december 83 to february 84, including the scenes of Paris in the 40s. An extensive research of locations in Paris were done for this. The filming were done, among other locations, in the now defunct prison of the Hipódromo, in the Brás neighborhood, Praça da Sé, Pátio do Colégio and Teatro Municipal. At the old historical Vera Cruz film studios in the city of São Bernardo, a prison cell was constructed for Molina and Valentin. The prison cell scenery were constructed of all movable parts to allow for Babenco's constantly moving camera angles. The very realistic ambientation of the cell- and prison scenes is to the credit of scenographer Clóvis Buenos who also worked with Babenco in "Pixote".The closing scenes with Raul Julia and Sonia Braga were filmed in the colonial costal city of Parati. The transformation of São Paulo into Paris in Molina's narration, is the result of scenographer Felipe Crescenti's arduous work. Crescenti also did films such as Djalma Limongi Batista's "Asa Branca" and "Um Sonho Brasileiro". Costumes were designed by Patrício Bisso.
This is Hector Babenco's fourth feature film, director of "O Rei da Noite" (King of the Nightlife), "Lúcio Flávio, O passageiro da Agonia" and "Pixote". There are two versions of the film, one in portugues with the actors Odilon Wagner and Geraldo Del Rey dubbing Raul Julia and William Hurt and another english version permitting "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" to be nominated in the Best Film catagory of the Oscar.
"The Kiss of the Spider Woman" represented Brasil at the Cannes Festival in 1985, where William Hurt won Best Actor. The film also won prizes at festivals in Tokyo, Oslo and Huelva.

CREDITS
Director: HECTOR BABENCO
Based on a novel by: MANUEL PUIG
Producers: HECTOR BABENCO and DAVID WEISMAN
Script: LEONARD SCRHADER
Executive Producer: FRANCISCO RAMALHO Jr.
Production Director: LIZA MONTEIRO
Art Director: CLÓVIS BUENO
Scenography of Nazi sequence: FELIPE CRESCENTI
Nazi costume design: PATRÍCIO BISSO
Original score: JOHN NESCHLINGER
Associate Composer: NANDO CARNEIRO
Director of Photography: RODOLFO SANCHES

CAST
WILLIAM HURT - Molina
RAUL JULIA - Valentim
SONIA BRAGA - Marta/Leni/Spider Woman
JOSÉ LEWGOY - Warden
NUNO LEAL MAIA - Gabriel, the waiter
HERSON CAPRI - Werner
MILTON GONÇALVES - Police Inspector
DENISE DUMONT - Michele
MIRIAN PIRES - Molina's mother
FERNANDO TORRES - Américo, political prisoner
PATRÍCIO BISSO - Greta, freind of Molina
NILDO PARENTE - Butler/Resistance leader
ANTONIO PETRIM - Crippled/Clubfoot
WILSON GREY - Cross-eyed/Flunky
MIGUEL FALABELLA - Nazi Lieutenant



Films and Awards