Directed by Héctor Babenco • 1985 • United States, Brazil
Starring William Hurt, Raúl Juliá, Sônia Braga

Héctor Babenco’s follow-up to his electrifying international breakthrough PIXOTE is another powerful, boldly realized portrait of life on the margins of Brazilian society. Based on the novel by Argentine writer Manuel Puig, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN features tour de force performances from William Hurt (winner of the Best Actor award at both the Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival) and Raúl Juliá as, respectively, the queer, gender-fluid Molina and the leftist radical Valentin, who find themselves imprisoned in the same cell during the Brazilian military dictatorship. Despite their very different approaches to life, the two form a connection that gradually transforms their understanding of politics, gender, sexuality, and revolution.