Kiss of the Spider Woman (brief review)

I am never sure if I should love this film or not; on this viewing, I was ambivalent. For one, I wonder about this essentially Brazilian production of an Argentine story with its Argentine director and two American actors in the lead. I used to think this gave the film the quality of being set anywhere (Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Vietnam, Angola) in a time when there were so many conflicts and political prisoners (not so different from our current time, perhaps). Now I wonder, why put a white U.S. American actor in the lead? How much does it take away from his performance if Milton Gonçalves has to spit out his lines in English? If this takes place in Anywhere, does it detract from that and ultimately exotify the plot if the supporting actors all speak in thick accents? I do think it distracts; I do not think it was worthwhile to have the film in English if Babenco wanted to cast Gonçalves or Fernando Torres. On the other hand, I think the exiled Babenco wanted to make a film about his two countries and, by extension, his own experience. In that kind light, he maybe succeeded more than I let on.

That said, I did like the way that the film was done; the colors, lighting, and intimacy generally worked. At least, they would have worked had I not been distracted by the character of Molina.

Each time I see this film or the play version, something else strikes me. This time, it was William Hurt, who frankly bothered me. I guess I just didn't like his performance; he seemed like a straight guy in girly clothes who didn't quite know what to do. I was also bothered by the character; I cannot remember if that was how Puig wrote him or not. At any rate, it did not work and brought down the whole film.