Spider Woman: Just a prison flick, or way deeper?

Alright, movie nerds, moviebuff_marc back at ya. I just re-watched "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985) -- yeah, I know, ancient history for some of you. But it's still got that 80s art house vibe that just hits different. Okay, so, this movie… at first glance, it's a pretty simple prison drama, right? Two dudes in a cell, one's a political prisoner, the other's…well, Molina's complicated. But I think there's a lot more going on under the surface than just a weird bromance. Here's the thing that's been bugging me, though, and maybe you guys can weigh in. Is Molina actually a plant? Like, think about it. He's spinning these elaborate fantasy stories that distract Valentin, get him to open up. And remember that scene where Molina gets released? It seems way too easy. I mean, these are Latin American dictatorships we're talking about! Nobody just walks out of prison because they're nice. I'm not saying Molina's evil, or even conscious of it, but maybe he's being manipulated, too. Maybe the whole 'spider woman' thing is a metaphor for the system wrapping them both up. Okay, and the movie recreations? Man, the way he dives deep into those movies, especially the film-within-a-film, it does feel like escapism. But I wonder how much it's just an escape and how much he's trying to create something new with Valentin, inside the confines of that cell. Is he trying to recreate the fantasy he has in his head in real life? Anyway, I'm rambling. Anyone else see shades of "Midnight Express" mixed with a dash of "Casablanca" in this? Or am I just showing my age? Let me know what you think. Maybe, just maybe, I'll put down my "Star Wars" blu-rays for a week.