Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands(1976)

The bulk of the movie deals with the turbulent marriage of Flor (Sonia Braga) and her philandering, irresponsible, drunken and even occasionally abusive husband Vadinho (Jose Wilker). In the first half, we see the sudden death of Vadinho in the middle of a public celebration, everyone -who knew about his dissolute ways and detested him and pitied Flor for putting up with it for so long- commenting on how Flor might finally be free to move on with her life as she deserved to, and a series of flashbacks depicting Flor’s life with Vadinho.

Vadinho squandered all the money -both whatever little he made and the savings Flor kept, from her work as a Cuisine instructor- in prostitutes and gambling, incurred in frequent drinking binges -at times, embarrassing himself and Flor with his behaviour-, and more than once assaulted Flor verbally and physically. However, part of what kept Flor from ever leaving him was his sexual and romantic prowess; he made her evolve from a timid woman to a sexually-liberated one, made passionate love to her regularly and enjoyed constantly “edging” her -delaying the foreplay- during intercourse, to the point of desperation. That, and the fact that he genuinely enjoyed her exotic, delicious culinary creations, particularly her “Spicy Devil Crabs with coconut milk and palm oil”, which reputedly also contributed to his might in bed.

The second half of the movie shows Flor trying to move on with her life. She meets a gentlemanly and respectable Pharmacist, Don Teodoro Madureira (Mauro Mendonza), who is the polar opposite of Vadinho in every possible way; he belongs to an upper-crust class and shows Flor around accordingly, and respects her and treats her like a lady. But, at the same time, he is also boring and unenthusiastic as a lover, which leaves her unfulfilled and frustrated.

As Flor finds herself reminiscing of Vadinho’s passion and sexual excitement, she starts hoping he somehow returns. On the anniversary of his passing, he reappears to her, completely naked, “because she wished to share her bed with him”. Although somewhat rejoiced with this -and being the only one able to see and hear him-, Flor resists his advances because she is now remarried and committed to respect Don Teodoro and be faithful to him. Vadinho respects her wishes, but keeps taunting her and somehow manages to wreak havoc at some places where he appears, after her.

After Vadinho mocks how pathetic Don Teodoro looks trying to make love to Flor, she stops resisting and lets Vadinho have her, which he does in his well-known, fiery way. At this point, Flor makes peace with the idea of “having two husbands”: Vadinho, who will keep her more than sexually satisfied; and Don Teodoro, who will be courteous and treat her with love and respect. She is seen turning alternatively to both sides of the bed, to kiss the two men on the cheek.

The movie ends with the trio -Vadinho, of course, now perpetually nude and not seen or heard by anyone but Flor- exiting a Church service, Flor gleefully holding arms with each man by her side.