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Something special often happens when movies (and novels for
that matter) narrow down. Reduce the number of characters and/or the set to a
single or very few locations and it forces the movie to focus on the dialogue
and the acting. Some of the most memorable movies have done exactly that to
great effect. “Kiss of the Spiderwoman” is largely about two men sharing a
prison cell, so we get a good opportunity here for something special.
The two men are Luis Molina (William Hurt) and Valentin
Arregui (Raul Julia). They are in a Brazilian prison during a military
dictatorship, Valetin because he is an opposition revolutionary (or just
opposition, everybody in opposition is a revolutionary to a military dictatorship)
and Luis because of homosexual advances on a minor (or just homosexual advances
as that is often criminal enough to a right-wing authority).
The two are an unlikely match, but over the bulk of the
movie they become friends, earning each other’s mutual respect. Luis keeps
telling of an old movie, he loves, in great detail, a movie we then see while
he talks and for nothing better to do Valentin listens. This movie takes place
in Paris during the war, about a cabaret singer falling in love with a Gestapo
officer.
For about 80% of the movie, this is all that happens. This
is a slow burner and to me, it seemed to be repeating itself a number of times.
Valentin gets tortured a bit, Luis tells some from his movie, some from his
private life, a bit of arguing and back to the torture. I may have zoned out a
few times because this part gets a bit blurry for me.
Then, with a jolt, we learn that Luis Molino was placed in
the cell by the prison warden to gain information from Valentin, and that of
course changes our perspective. Is he going to rat on his prison mate or have
they become friends for real?
Let us is start with the positive. As mentioned in the
opening, this format allows for great acting, and this is what we get. William
Hurt as the homosexual Luis Molina, is exceptional. The movie appears to have
some status in the gay community, and this is largely down to Hurt and his multi-dimensional
portrayal of the openly gay Molina. It earned him an Academy award. Raul Julia
is less spectacular, but his job is also mainly to play up against Hurt and
that he does sufficiently well.
We also get an interesting ending, with some important
decisions on Luis Molina’s part. It feels a bit like a swan song, but it is
delicate enough to work.
What does not work, at least not for me, is the humming through
the first hour and a half. The movie seems to go nowhere, and I had serious
problems paying attention. Not for lack of acting, but for lack of story. This
is supposed to be the core of the movie, but I have problems even recalling
what happened in this part. There may be a progress in their relationship, we
may be learning a lot about Molina, but the pacing is glacial. If I had not
been committed to watch the movie, I would likely have simply stopped watching
after an hour. Instead, I stopped every time I felt I was dozing off, to
continue when my head was clearer.
“Kiss of a Spider Woman” was made for the theatre and that
shows. It has that “kammerspiel” property, but in this case it also becomes a constraint
for the movie rather than an asset. The scenes of Molina’s stories break the prison
and although they serve as an analogy for what is happening in the cell, they
also feel as that much filler. An escape from the constraint of the format.
This is not a movie I feel inclined to watch again, but for
a single watching it is worth experiencing William Hurt go all in as the
effeminate Luis Molina. I can also imagine this is an important movie in the
gay community. There are not that many movies that include homosexuality as
more than a stereotype.
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