A recent visitor left me some DVDs amongst which was Kiss of the Spider Woman. Thanks to Linux and OSS I managed to rip-off the DRM and watch it (again after many years).
I cannot do better than quote the blurb on the DVD cover:
“An intense story, set largely in one prison cell in an unnamed Latin Amerian country, Luis Molina and Valentin Arregui are cell mates and poles apart. Luis is a camp gay man who escapes his grim conditions in a cinematic fantasy, telling a glamorous story of forbidden wartime romance. Valentin, on the other hand, is a revolutionary firebrand, tortured by the authorities but steadfast to his cause.
But through their hardship and the escapism of Luis's storytelling, they come to understand and respect each other. A bond develops and the consequences for both of them are as romantic and tragic as Luis's tale”.
Luis, on his release from prison, sacrifices his life for Valentin's political cause.
I must seek out the novel by Manuel Puig on which the film is based.
In the film Luis is played by William Hurt. I have not seen such brilliant acting since seeing Billie Whitelaw's performance in Samuel Beckett's own direction, at the end of his life, of his play Happy Days.
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1 comment:
For better or worse, the Puig novels I've read (this one and one other, the title of which I've forgotten) pretty much read like screenplays. It works well for "Kiss..." since cinematic fantasy is such a large part of the story. -Rob
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