Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 film)

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Kiss of the Spider Woman (Portuguese: O Beijo da Mulher-Aranha) is a 1985 dystopian drama film directed by Héctor Babenco from a screenplay by Leonard Schrader, based on the 1976 novel by Argentine author Manuel Puig. It stars William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves, and Denise Dumont. Set in a Brazilian prison during the military dictatorship, the film centers on a dialogue between two very different cellmates, a hardened leftist revolutionary (Julia) and an apolitical gay man (Hurt). The story utilizes metafictional and film-within-a-film elements, as the latter regales the former with retellings of an old movie, whose themes mirror those of the characters. Independently produced, principal photography occurred in São Paulo between October 1983 and March 1984. Kiss of the Spider Woman premiered on May 13, 1985, at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, where Hurt won the Best Actor award and Babenco was nominated for the Palme d'Or. The film was released in the United...

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