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If actress Regina Duarte is the "girlfriend of Brazil", Sonia Braga is and will always the eternal "Gabriela", who yesterday turns 70 years old. It shone in Brazilian cinema in "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands" (1976), an absolute success in Brazil, remaining for three decades as the most watched Brazilian film in theaters (over ten million viewers), a film that elevated the Brazil to the first world of international cinema, after the country winning the Palme d'Or in Cannes (1962) with "Keeper of Promises - the given word", a film by Anselmo Duarte.

Others relevant national titles in her career includes "A Dama do Lotação" (1978, directed by Neville D"Almeida), "A Moreninha" (1970, directed by Glauco Mirko Laurelli), "O Casal" (1975, directed by Daniel Filho) and "Eu Te Amo" (1981, directed by Arnaldo Jabor). Before the TV series "Gabriela" (1975), Sonia had acted in other series at the Globo Network.

In the seventies, she appeared as a hippie ("Irmãos Coragem, 1970) and as a emotionally confused girl (Selva de Pedra, 1972) until the explosion with the title character of the television adaptation of the novel "Gabriela, Cravo e Canela", written by Jorge Amado, a landmark of Brazilian TV that becamed her in a television big star and revolutionized her image - it's important to say that!

"Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands", also an adaptation of a book written by Jorge Amado transformed Sonia in an international star - in the Baftas she was nominated as most outstanding newcomer and the film had a Hollywood version, " Kiss Me Goodbye" (1982, directed by Robert Mulligan) with Jeff Bridges, James Caan and Sally Field, who was at the height of her success with the Oscar received for "Norma Rae" (1979, directed by Martin Ritt). Later, Sally and Sonia would act together in the series "Brothers and Sisters" (2006-2011).

Courageous, in the middle of eighties, she left Globo TV and migrated to the USA after the success and Oscar nominations earned by "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985, by Hector Babenco). In Hollywood she appeared in "The Milagro Beanfield War" (1988, directed by Robert Redford), "The Burning Season" (1994, directed by John Frankenheimer) and "Moon Over Parador" (1988, directed by Paul Mazursky), besides shining in six episodes of "Sex and the City" (1998 -2004), when she played a lesbian envolved with Miranda (Kim Cattrall). In the USA, recognized for her talent, she was nominated three times for the Golden Globe (once for "Kiss of the Spider Woman") and once for the Emmy for "The Burning Season".

When I first saw it, it was one of the most sexiest movies I had ever seen. Sonia Braga back in the late seventies was a beautiful woman and now as a 57 year old she still has that look. After seeing the movie I wanted to see more of Brazil, so much I went to Rio. I was not disappointed. From very rich ex-patriot Germans to super poor mixed race Brazilians, it was an eye opener. Brazilian women were so sexy in dress and manner but don't let the eye candy fool you. There character was top rate. As one Brazilian woman put it, "We dress like this because we celebrate life and sex, but to get these pants off a wedding ring is the key."

I rate Bruno Barreto one of the best Brazilian directors ever, and certainly DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS emerged as a noteworthy early success in his career.

To that end he is masterfully helped by the deceptively simple cinematography of Murillo Salles, the musical score by Chico Buarque da Holanda, and the script off writer Jorge Amado's famous novel.

Set in 1943 Salvador da Bahia city, DONA FLOR is imbued with the colors and fragrances of that coastal town, and Barreto keeps the action tight, with touches of human kindness and understanding while others continue backstabbing and decrying everything.

Clever ending. 8/10.

Talking about prodigy filmmakers, Xavier Dolan might feel threatened, at the age of 21, Brazilian director Bruno Barreto's third feature DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS (adapted from Jorge Amado's namesake novel), became the most successful film in Brazilian history, a record it would retain for about 35 years, and it launched its star Sonia Braga onto international stardom, who would reach the apogee in her iconic turn in KISS OF THE SPIDER MAN (1985, 9/10) as the embodiment of the titular spider woman.

Death precipitately befalls during the exotic festivity of a cluster of people dancing and courting a mulatto in a Brazilian town, and the deceased is Vadinho (Wilker), a young man in his early thirties, and the causes of his death are multiple. He is survived by his wife Dona Flora (Braga), and she starts to recollect their seven-year marriage and it turns out Vadinho is a complete good-for-nothing except his amorous sexual desire. He is a chronic gambler, an inherent womaniser, a boozer and whore-monger with a tendency for domestic violence. And Dona is a sultry beauty, but also a religious wife, she puts up with him in spite of all the suffering and abuse, since occasionally she can find the ephemeral satisfaction in their torrid love-making. But in the eyes of others, like Dona's mother and her close friends, who keep grousing about why she is so submissive towards Vadinho's tyranny, their marriage is a total mismatch judging by the face value.

When Vadinho is out of the picture, everyone is hoping for a new bright future for Dona, including herself, she is tormented by his sudden death, but is also looking forward to commencing a brand new chapter of her life. So she marries to a second husband, a middle-age pharmacist Teodoro (Mendonça), the exact opposite of Vadinho, a respectful man with a prospective future, but pedantic and boring, and worst of all, the sex is dreadful, comically marked out by Barreto in their wedding consummation with droll earnestness.

Commendably, the film focuses on a woman's conundrum between two polarised types of men, edifies with the motto "happiness does not equal romance" and then establishes Dona as a token of woman's sexual liberation by creating an imaginary ménage-a-trois situation with no rationale behind it. Barreto affirmatively betrays his young age through mischievousness of twisting the irony of fate and whimsies in engineering its saucy sex scenes with inordinate indulgence. Especially Wilker is not such a hotrod gaging by today's standard, watching him flaunt his flabby body in the buff and ca-noodle Braga again and again only solidifies one thing: she deserves someone much better, and the exploitation of her sex appeal out-paces the requirement for a committed performance, which she invests profoundly in the character development.

As far as the film is concerned, although sometimes verbosely executed, but who can resist its fetching charm of a strange land with all its whistles and bells function in full mode, plus a hindsight of Barreto's young age can only attribute more to his precocious expertise, a creditable achievement indeed.

As a confirmed Brazilophile who has visited that charming country many times, I can easily affirm that this film will come as close as any other to providing you with the authentic flavor of Brazil. What keeps this from being a really good film is its essential silliness. Another reviewer has recapitulated the plot fairly well, so I don't need to do that here. Suffice it to say that I don't find it incomprehensible that Flor would put up with her first husband's peccadillos as the price for passionate sex. What I do find incomprehensible is that a woman as passionate as Flor would put up with her second husband's ineptitude at lovemaking. He wears both his pajamas and his underwear to bed and keeps them on when he makes love, and she keeps her nightgown on as well. Why doesn't she rip all of the clothes off and teach him something? Oh well..........

Dona Flor, Sonia Braga, ( The Kiss of the Spider Woman and Robert Redford; Milagro Beanfield War) is married to Vadinho, José Wilker ( well known Brazilian Soapopera star). Vadinho likes women and Flor is a subservient wife who gives cooking lessons because she is well known in town for her good cooking. Vadinho never misses a chance to flirt and even to touch other women in front of Flor, who never catches him. Flor is great denial because she loves him and they have a great sex life. Vadinho dies. She remarries the town pharmacist, Mauro Mendonça (another famous Soap opera actor) who is a complete prude. Vadinho then begins to show up as a ghost, and keeps making fun of her prude husband. Well many funny moments of great laughter. Based on a book by Jorge Amado, one of the foremost Brazilian writers ( Gabriela, Cravo e Canela), this is a fun plot and very much into the Brazilian culture. You must give Vadinho a break at the beginning of the movie because machismo is somewhat accepted in the Latin culture, and as the plot develops his machismo will make you laugh. Well directed by Bruno Barreto, who directed ( Four Days in September) movie that was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film in 1988, Dona Flor will give great insights into Brazilian culture and a flavor to taste Brazilian food. Very spice, and fun Movie. I highly recommend!

The hardworking "Flor" (Sonia Braga) marries the dashing Klaus Kinski lookalike "Vadinho" (José Wilker) but quickly discovers that he is a bit of a philanderer and a complete waste of space. Then, as if by magic, he dies and is conveniently buried with nose blockers so he can't smell his own rotting corpse in the coffin in the ground! That's an early sign of what's to come in this dark and quite entertaining romantic comedy that has shades of "Blithe Spirit" to it. That's because once he has started to push up the daisies, she marries the kindly and decent pharmacy owner "Teodoro" (Mauro Mendonça) who promises to be faithful to her and her alone. The snag with that particular arrangement is that quite rapidly she realises that though solid and reliable, his sexual prowess is less than energetic. Yep, after a while she starts to miss her absent "Vadhino". Well, guess what. He must have been watching her from the netherworld as he almost immediately he appears, usually stark naked, ready to resume his husbandly duties. Quite literally an horny little devil on her shoulder! He turns up at all the wrong times, causes no end of mischief and in the end, poor old "Flor" doesn't really know which way to turn as her husband thinks she's gradually losing the plot and her scheming apparition is enjoying every minute of it! It's maybe not a film for the more politically correct amongst us, as the wandering hands of "Vadhino" know few bounds, but once we appreciate that he is really just the latest in a long line of local Lotharios who is shallow and thoughtless, yes, but ultimately means no-one any harm then we can settle down to enjoy a series of faintly ridiculous scenarios set in a small town community where chauvinism is as much the currency as the Cruzeiro. There's a suitably jolly score to accompany these antics and a clear message about the grass not always being greener - especially if you are slowly decomposing underneath it. It's maybe a little long and it does recycle itself in the middle, but it is still, an enjoyable romp through a Brazilian way of life that lives by the seat of it's pants.

One of Bruno Barreto's earliest works, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is a comical story about human desires and the need for balance. This movie is for everyone who ever wanted to mix and match the qualities of failed lovers into the perfect partner. You will laugh and see yourself in Dona Flor's struggles.

Sonia Braga's beauty and charm is sure to captivate most male viewers of this film, but even they will probably notice that the whole thing DRAGS along at a slow-as-molasses pacing and feels incomplete, as if the filmmakers couldn't come up with a truly satisfying ending. The basic story is clever, but I'm afraid this film too often borders on boredom. (**1/2)

I first saw this film when it was released here in L.A. over twenty years ago. It was outrageously funny then, and even more so 20 years later.

Dona Flor is married to Mr Wrong, but she loves him and overlooks his short comings and takes care of him. After his untimely death, she marries Mr. Right who adores and cares for her. Yet, the spark Mr. Wrong ignited within her is missing. That is until the ghost of Mr. Wrong comes back... LOL! Can a woman love and honor two husbands?

Whether you're a stickler for monogamy or you believe having more than one spouse is the only way to go, you'll have fun viewing this beautiful, entertaining, and hilarious film.

I've heard this compared to "Like Water for Chocolate", which is one of my favourite films ever. Suffice to say, I didn't find that, despite this being touted as a "Brazilian classic".

Maybe it was of its time, and hasn't aged well - or that I'm not Brazilian. Suffice to say the sex looks very tame by today's standards, I didn't find many of the "escapades" funny and the boorish behaviour of husband No1 (and his friends) was unbearable and sad. The fantasy element could have been fun but (for me) I'd had enough of the guy so by the end she seemed to be stuck with two idiots rather than one.... hey ho.

Not recommended.

In the dawn of the Sunday of the Carnival of 1943, in Salvador, the thirty-three years old Valdomiro 'Vadinho' Santos Guimarães (José Wilker) dies, with many internal organs not working well. The widow, the teacher of culinary art Dona Flor (Florípides) Guimarães (Sônia Braga), misses him and remember their lives together along seven years of marriage. Gambler, Bohemian, hard-drinker, "bon-vivant", but also good lover, Vadinho left Flor in the honeymoon, after the consumption of his obligations, to gamble in a casino and spend the rest of the night in a brothel. But he knew how to treat and love Flor, and in the end she made peace with him. After his death, Flor marries Dr. Teodoro Madureira (Mauro Mendonça), a good husband and hard- worker, with a great culture and player of oboe in a local orchestra. Teodoro gives a comfortable and very stable life to Flor, but without passion in his love, having boring sexual intercourse with her. After one year of marriage, Flor misses so much the sex life with Vadinho that she includes him in her sexual life. "Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos" is a delightful transposition to the cinema of the greatest best-seller of the Brazilian literature, having more than two millions readers. The naive and metaphoric story of a woman in the 40's, in the interior of Brazil, who has a repressed sexual life in her second marriage, and fantasizes thinking in the love of her former husband, is indeed a classic in Brazil. Sonia Braga in the beginning of her career, with her very Brazilian type, is magnificent in the role of Dona Flor, and José Wilker is the personification of the "Brazilian loafer" of the 40's, wearing white suit, asking for money to his friends, spending the money in gamble, women and booze, and having a woman to support him. This movie was awarded in the "Festival of Gramado (Brazil)" in 1977, and was nominated to the Golden Globe of 1979 in the category Best Foreigner Movie. This movie was recently released on DVD in Brazil. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos"

If you hear of a movie wherein a deceased man's spirit sticks around and keeps an eye on his lover, you'd probably think of "Ghost". It turns out that another one was Bruno Barreto's "Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos" ("Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands" in English). The title character is a culinary teacher in 1943 Bahia whose uncouth husband dies, except that his ghost won't leave.

In addition to the story, the movie gives on a feeling of 1940s Brazil: the music, the clothes, and the general mindset. I've never read the source novel - and probably never will, given how long it takes me to get through books - but the movie is one fine piece of work. Sônia Braga, José Wilker and Mauro Mendonça put it outstanding (and funny) performances. I recommend it.

I read Dona Flor before I saw the film. It is both my favorite Brazilian novel and my favorite Brazilian film.

Others have written about the plot and the story, but here I want to attest to the film's spot-on reflection of the culture of the time & place the story occurs.

I lived in a small town in Brazil in the late 1960s. The small town where I lived had a similar ambiance to 1940s' Salvador where this film is set, including the costumes, hairstyles, and makeup. Men often dressed in drag during Carnaval. The mourning scenes were typical of the time. The actions of the characters also seem appropriate to the time and place. Most Brazilians were Roman Catholic but many also believed in orixas, minor gods from African religions brought to Brazil by slaves and the supernatural happenings practitioners believed were caused by them. I once stayed in a small inn that was so similar to the one where Flor & Teodoro honeymooned, that it could have been the exact room i stayed in.

Some details are subtle and those unfamiliar with Brazil wouldn't catch them. For example, if I stopped by someone's home --no matter how long I stayed --when I chose to leave, my host would protest with, "It's early." In the film, I laughed out loud when I heard that exact line in the film.

Also the movie follows the Jorge Amado novel well. Amado's books are wordy (but beautifully so) so are much longer & would cover far too many hours for a film, so, of course, some scenes and details are missing.

Most of Amado's protagonists are women. Many of his characters are from the seedy side of life. And many of his books contain recipes. Dona Flor includes all of these typical Amado characteristics. I had read most of his books in English (the original Portuguese uses so many regional colloquialisms and slang that even native Brazilians have a hard time understanding some of them.)

The film isn't perfect, but for me who grew to love the country, the culture, and especially Brazilians, it was a joy to watch.

_____ Warning, there are some explicit sex scenes, if that bothers you.

This priceless old film contains brilliant performances, not only by the great Sonia Braga, and the Moliere Award-winning Jose Wilker, but also by the entire supporting cast.

The gossipy neighbors, the uptight mother, the casino and whorehouse friends of Vadinho, are all played to absolute perfection! Mauro Mendonça deserves honorable mention for his spot-on portrayal of the bassoon-playing dork of a second husband. I've seen this at least a dozen times, and I still can't stop laughing.

Few films create a masterpiece out of a masterpiece of fiction, which both this film and Jorge Amado's novel certainly are. Here, you get not only erotic art, but a hilarious and splendid comedy of manners, in a fantastic period setting, perfect in every detail. If that were not enough, the soundtrack of Francis Hime and Chico Buarque de Hollanda, with the theme song, "O que sera sera," sung by the great Simone, serves you an auditory feast worthy of Dona Flor's immortal moqueca.

A treasure to savor, over and over and over again!

"Dona Flor and her two husbands" was a landmark in national cinema and seeing the film for the first time is completely understandable, we have a film that dares far beyond what was expected, which flirts with polygamy, sin, religious plurality, female sexuality and various other themes hitherto little explored, or explored in caricature and critical ways, not here, we have a story that flows perfectly with charismatic characters, broken and involved in a story that unfolds among several analogies and seems much deeper than it appears.

The script tells the story of Floripedes, a woman who maintains a cooking school and is married to Vadinho, a bohemian, womanizer and gambler, it is better not to delve too deeply into synopses, as this can end up spoiling the viewer's experience a little, Bruno Barreto, the successful director who directed the feature, knew how to use, in the first instance, a sublime aesthetic, which from the very beginning manages to mix surrealism with a striking score, which is presented to us in different tones composed by Chico Buarque, O Bruno Barreto's use of camera is also very good, using a lot of zoom in, wide shots and a camera that always seeks to follow the intimacy of his characters, combining framings as if they were paintings together with a poetic text, it's a mixture that combines and exposes the affliction of our protagonist.

In terms of acting Sonia Braga starts a little distant from the audience, but soon her performance takes a confusing shape and manages to convey the duality of feelings of her character, on the other hand, José Wilker playing the controversial Vadinho is too good, stealing the scene whenever he gets In fact, one of the few problems with the film is precisely the period of time that the character leaves the screen, in these moments time passes slowly and we feel the weight of the minutes leaving the work a little boring, another criticism is when the sound of the film, we clearly felt the finger of post production when it comes to remixing, but that doesn't even come close to spoiling our experience."Dona Flor and her two husbands" is a film ahead of its time, brave, very well directed and acted, a landmark of national cinema that lives up to its fame. 9/10.