Dona Flor et ses deux maris

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.

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 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.

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"

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!