Press Kit - New Yorker Films

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
CREDITS
Director
Screenplay
Based on the novel by
Director of Photography
Editor
Art Director
Music
Sound
Produced by
Titles
BRUNO BARRETO
BRUNO BARRETO
JORGE AMADO
MAURILO SALLES
RAIMUNDO HIGINO
ANISIO MEDEIROS
CHICO BUARQUE
FRANCIS HIME
LUIZ CARLOS BARRETO
NEWTON RIQUE
CIA SERRADOR
CYRO DEL NERO
CAST
Dona Flor
Vadinho
Teodoro
Rozilda
Mirandao
Carlinhos
Cazuza
Arigof
SONIA BRAGA
JOSE WILKER
MAURO MENDONCA
DINORAH BRILLANTI
NELSON XAVIER
ARTHUR COSTA FILHO
RUI REZENDE
MARIO GUSMAO
www.NewYorkerFilms.com
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour, 46 minutes
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SYNOPSIS
On the Sunday of CARNIVAL in Bahia, Vadinho (Jose Wilker), Dona Flor’s first husband, drops
dead of a heart attack while dancing wildly in the streets with his friends. At his funeral, he is
remembered by his friends and neighbors as a rascal, gambler, gigolo, and by some, even as a
great man. After Vadinho’s burial, Dona Flor (Sonia Braga) is inconsolable and repeatedly
remembers the life she had with her husband. Not all of the memories are pleasant, but they are
all part of the man she loved and can’t forget. For example, on her wedding night, Vadinho
slipped out of bed when she was asleep and made straight for the roulette board and for the
local brothel, in the company of his bar-room friends – the black Arigof (Mario Gusmao), his
special buddy Mirandao (Nelson Xavier), the perpetual drunk Cazuza Funil (Rui Rezende), the
guitarist Carlinhos (Arthur Costa Filho), the poet Clodoaldo (Nelson Dantas) and the dog called 17.
Vadinho was a man who never knew what day it was, much less the time. He recognized no
limits, nor did he have any kind of discipline. He could disappear from home for days at a time
and on his return, offer no explanation and continue to amuse himself, flirting with Dona Flor’s
cooking students. Apart from these minor failings, Vadinho was a marvelous man. He was as
great a lover as he was an idler.
In his own way Vadinho deeply loved Flor and knowing this, makes it all the more difficult to
forget him. Encouraged by her friends, Norma Dinora (Haydil Linhares) and Jacy (Silvia Cadaval),
Flor decides to marry again, but this time her husband is quite different; in fact he is the exact
opposite of the first. The husband, Teodoro Madureira (Mauro Mendonca) is a respectable
pharmacist and an admirer of classical music. He is a methodical man in everything he does,
even when he makes love – this last to be exact, on Wednesday and Saturdays, but he permits
himself a “twice’ on special occasions. Nothing is done to excess.
After a year of marriage to this kind and considerate husband, Flor gives an anniversary party at
their home. Exhausted after all the excitement of the day, she goes to her room and finds, of all
people, Vadinho lying comfortably naked on her bed. The apparition of her first husband doesn’t
frighten Flor. She has missed him so much and now it will be so nice to sit down and talk to
him. But this is not in the cards at all. The ectoplasmic Vadinho hasn’t come back for just some
pleasant chitchat. He begins where he left off in life and tries to make love to Flor. She is quite
shocked and explains that she is now a respectable married woman, and for the time being,
Vadinho leaves her alone. He turns his attention to the casinos and being invisible to others,
helps his friends to make a fortune on his favorite number, 17, at the roulette wheel.
Vadinho then continues his advances to Flor and each time she finds it harder to resist his
lovemaking overtures. Finally she succumbs to her first husband and in the process discovers
how happy she can be living with two husbands, loving and being loved by both of them.
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BIOGRAPHIES
BRUNO BARRETO - Director
Bruno Barreto started with home movies when he was eight and hasn’t stopped since. Now, at
23, he is about to finish his fourth feature film, BELOVED LOVER< which will open in Brazil next
June. All his films have been enormous hits in Brazil. TATI, THE GIRL, made when he was 18,
was the highest grossing film of 1973. THE RISING STAR, following two years later, was then the
most popular Brazilian film in the history of the industry. This record was toppled by DONA FLOR
($8,000,000), which also had the highest budget of any film made in Brazil at that time
($700,000). DONA FLOR was a milestone, bridging the gap between Brazilian films and the
popular audiences, and reconciling ideas of Brazilian CINEMA NOBO (Brazilian films
independently made) with the requests of an emerging industry (Brazilian films for general
audiences).
JORGE AMADO - Writer of the original novel
Bahia is the home of DONA FLOR and Jorge Amado, one of the most prestigious writers from
Latin America (TERESA BATISTA, HOME FROM THE WARS, TENT OF MIRACLES, and GABRIELA,
CLOVE AND CINNAMON are in print in the U.S.). Amado finds inspiration for all the characters in
his novels in real people from Bahian life, and no one depicts with more colorful words and
images the sensuousness and the joys of living in the tropics.
LUIS CARLOS BARRETO - Producer
Luis Carlos Barreto is the producer of innumerable films of the CINEMA NOVO (Glauber Rocha,
Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Carlos Diegues, and Joaquim Pedro de Andrade’s foremost films
were Barreto’s co-productions). Recently, he has become chairman of EMBRAFILME, the film
production company that has been responsible for financing and distributing many of the
country’s recent artistic and commercial successes.
SONIA BRAGA - Dona Flor
Sonia Braga is the most well-known star in Brazil. She enjoys enormous popularity from her
appearances on TV GLOBO, the Brazilian network. Her roles in TV soap operas—which are
shown on primetime TV, and have productions values equivalent to the avoce average TV movie
produced in America—have made her a multi-million cruzeiro girl. She appeared briefly on
stage (HAIR) and started her career in the movies with top billing from her very first film. Her
latest feature, LADY IN THE BUS, opened in Brazil last week to favorable notices and high
grosses, especially due to her talent and sex appeal.
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