Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Encyclopedia
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos in Portuguese
) is a 1976 comedy
film
directed by Bruno Barreto
. Based on the novel
of the same name
by Jorge Amado
, it takes place in 1940s Bahia
. It stars Sônia Braga
, José Wilker
, and Mauro Mendonça in the leading roles. The screenplay was adapted by Barreto, Eduardo Coutinho
, and Leopoldo Serran
.
When initially released, Dona Flor became the most successful film in Brazilian history. Its box office
was only reached by a Brazilian production 35 years later (by the 2010 blockbuster
The Elite Squad 2
). Internationally, Dona Flor received nominations for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.
In 1982, an American
remake titled Kiss Me Goodbye
, starring Sally Field
, James Caan, and Jeff Bridges
on the leading roles, was released.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084210/ Field received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
.
), Flor's irresponsible husband, drops dead while dancing in a street carnival party. Only Flor (Sônia Braga
) expresses remorse after his death. Flor's friends and family see Vadinho's death as a chance for Flor to find happiness after the misery brought upon her by Vadinho's spendthrift ways and near total lack of respectability. Roughly the first half of Dona Flor recounts Flor's marriage with Vadinho in an extended flashback. What is made clear is that Vadinho was a great lover who admired his wife's respectability, but enjoyed protracted foreplay until she begged him to continue. He might not paint the house or leave her savings alone, but he changed this inhibited girl into a wife who experienced carnal joy regularly.
The second half of Dona Flor involves Flor's meeting the respectable but extraordinarily dull pharmacist Teodoro (Mauro Mendonça), his courtship of her, and her marriage to him. Flor's friends consider Teodoro the exact opposite of Vadinho. Teodoro belongs in superior circles within Bahia's society, dresses elegantly, and treats Flor like a lady. What Flor's friends do not know is that Teodoro is also the opposite of Vadinho in one more respect: in bed, Teodoro is as lacking as Vadinho was accomplished.
On the anniversary of Vadinho's death, Vadinho reappears to Flor in the nude and explains that she called him to "share her bed" with him. Only Flor can see and hear the nude spirit of Vadinho. She protests because she is now remarried and has pledged to be faithful to Teodoro, but after Vadinho laughs during Teodoro's pathetic attempts at love-making that night, Flor gives in and lives happily with both husbands. A cute shot
toward the end of the film shows Teodoro lying in bed next to Flor, who kisses him on the cheek. The camera
then pans
to the left and we see Vadinho on Flor's other side and she kisses him on the cheek too.
Golden Globe Awards
Gramado Film Festival
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) is a 1976 comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto is a Brazilian film director born in Rio de Janeiro. He has been making feature-length films ever since he was seventeen years old and remains one of Brazil’s most accomplished and popular directors to this day...
. Based on the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of the same name
Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos
Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos is a Brazilian novel, written by Jorge Amado in 1966.Amado's tale is of a woman's unlikely path to happiness. It is a vast panorama of life in the town of Salvador, Bahia, with dozens of characters.The novel has been adapted into a 1976 film....
by Jorge Amado
Jorge Amado
Jorge Leal Amado de Faria was a Brazilian writer of the Modernist school. He was the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and her Two Husbands in 1978...
, it takes place in 1940s Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
. It stars Sônia Braga
Sônia Braga
Sônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She has been nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.-Early life:...
, José Wilker
José Wilker
José Wilker de Almeida is a Brazilian actor of film, stage and TV, born in Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará, Northeast of Brazil.-Filmography:* A falecida * A vida provisória * Estranho triângulo...
, and Mauro Mendonça in the leading roles. The screenplay was adapted by Barreto, Eduardo Coutinho
Eduardo Coutinho
Eduardo Coutinho is an Brazilian film director, screen writer, actor and film producer.He directed and wrote the script to the 1967 popular Brazilian film, El ABC del amor near the beginning of his career...
, and Leopoldo Serran
Leopoldo Serran
Leopoldo Augusto Bhering Serran was a Brazilian screenwriter best known for the 1976 film Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, based on the novel by Jorge Amado....
.
When initially released, Dona Flor became the most successful film in Brazilian history. Its box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
was only reached by a Brazilian production 35 years later (by the 2010 blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
The Elite Squad 2
The Elite Squad 2
Elite Squad 2 is a 2010 Brazilian film directed and produced by José Padilha, starring Wagner Moura. It is a sequel of the 2007 film The Elite Squad...
). Internationally, Dona Flor received nominations for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.
In 1982, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
remake titled Kiss Me Goodbye
Kiss Me Goodbye (film)
Kiss Me Goodbye is a 1982 film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Sally Field in a Golden Globe nominated performance. The movie also stars James Caan and Jeff Bridges.-Plot:...
, starring Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
, James Caan, and Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
on the leading roles, was released.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084210/ Field received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
.
Plot
Vadinho (José WilkerJosé Wilker
José Wilker de Almeida is a Brazilian actor of film, stage and TV, born in Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará, Northeast of Brazil.-Filmography:* A falecida * A vida provisória * Estranho triângulo...
), Flor's irresponsible husband, drops dead while dancing in a street carnival party. Only Flor (Sônia Braga
Sônia Braga
Sônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She has been nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.-Early life:...
) expresses remorse after his death. Flor's friends and family see Vadinho's death as a chance for Flor to find happiness after the misery brought upon her by Vadinho's spendthrift ways and near total lack of respectability. Roughly the first half of Dona Flor recounts Flor's marriage with Vadinho in an extended flashback. What is made clear is that Vadinho was a great lover who admired his wife's respectability, but enjoyed protracted foreplay until she begged him to continue. He might not paint the house or leave her savings alone, but he changed this inhibited girl into a wife who experienced carnal joy regularly.
The second half of Dona Flor involves Flor's meeting the respectable but extraordinarily dull pharmacist Teodoro (Mauro Mendonça), his courtship of her, and her marriage to him. Flor's friends consider Teodoro the exact opposite of Vadinho. Teodoro belongs in superior circles within Bahia's society, dresses elegantly, and treats Flor like a lady. What Flor's friends do not know is that Teodoro is also the opposite of Vadinho in one more respect: in bed, Teodoro is as lacking as Vadinho was accomplished.
On the anniversary of Vadinho's death, Vadinho reappears to Flor in the nude and explains that she called him to "share her bed" with him. Only Flor can see and hear the nude spirit of Vadinho. She protests because she is now remarried and has pledged to be faithful to Teodoro, but after Vadinho laughs during Teodoro's pathetic attempts at love-making that night, Flor gives in and lives happily with both husbands. A cute shot
Shot (film)
In film, a shot is a continuous strip of motion picture film, created of a series of frames, that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Shots are generally filmed with a single camera and can be of any duration. A shot in production, defined by the beginning and end of a capturing process, is...
toward the end of the film shows Teodoro lying in bed next to Flor, who kisses him on the cheek. The camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
then pans
Panning (camera)
In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device...
to the left and we see Vadinho on Flor's other side and she kisses him on the cheek too.
Awards and nominations
BAFTA Film Awards- Best Leading NewcomerBAFTA Award for Best Newcomer-Best British Director, Producer or Writer in the First Film:*2006 - Red Road - Andrea Arnold**Black Sun – Gary Tarn**Pierrepoint – Christine Langan**London to Brighton – Paul Andrew Williams...
– Sônia BragaSônia BragaSônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She has been nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.-Early life:...
(nominated)
Golden Globe Awards
- Best Foreign Language FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
(nominated)
Gramado Film Festival
Festival de Gramado
The Gramado Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. Since 1992 it also gives awards to Latin American films produced outside Brazil...
- Best Film – Bruno Barreto (nominated)
- Best Director – Bruno Barreto (won)
- Best Film Music – Francis HimeFrancis HimeFrancis Hime is a composer, arranger, pianist and singer from Brazil.-Discography:*2007 - CHORO - DVD*2007 - Francis Ao Vivo*2006 - Arquitetura da Flor*2005 - Essas Parcerias*2004 - Álbum Musical...
(won) - Special Jury Award – Anisio Medeiros, production designer (won)
Sources
- Bergan, Ronald and Robyn Karney. The Faber Companion to Foreign Films. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1992.
- Creed-Miles, Jo. "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos)." TimeOut Film Guide. Ed. John Pym. London: Penguin Books, 2003.