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.
Up Next in Directed by Héctor Babenco
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King of the Night
Directed by Héctor Babenco • 1975 • Brazil
Starring Paulo José, Marília Pêra, Vic MilitelloHéctor Babenco’s first feature traces the descent of Tertuliano (Paulo José), a once-promising aspiring lawyer, into a life of decadence and amorality on the bohemian fringes of São Paulo as he falls into...
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Foolish Heart
Directed by Héctor Babenco • 1998 • Brazil, Argentina, France
Starring Miguel Ángel Solá, Maria Luísa Mendonça, Walter QuirozA deeply personal passion project for director Héctor Babenco, this tale of romantic and artistic awakening follows seventeen-year-old Juan (Walter Quiroz), a young man w...
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The Past
Directed by Héctor Babenco • 2007 • Brazil, Argentina
Starring Gael García Bernal, Analía Couceyro, Mariana AnghileriSupercharged with almost operatic drama, Héctor Babenco’s provocative adaptation of a novel by Argentine writer Alan Pauls stars the magnetic Gael García Bernal as Rimini, a tran...
