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Kiss of the Spider Woman

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Drama · 1985

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

Movie details

Kiss of the Spider Woman

“Once upon a time... in a tropical island far away, there lived a strange woman…”

1985 Drama 2h 0m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Kiss of the Spider Woman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Héctor Babenco

Written by

Leonard Schrader

William Hurt

William Hurt

Luis Molina

Raúl Juliá

Raúl Juliá

Valentin Arregui

Sonia Braga

Sonia Braga

Leni Lamaison / Marta / Spider Woman

José Lewgoy

José Lewgoy

Warden

Milton Gonçalves

Milton Gonçalves

Pedro

Miriam Pires

Miriam Pires

Mother

Nuno Leal Maia

Nuno Leal Maia

Gabriel

Court is in session

Put Kiss of the Spider Woman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.