Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 25, 2022

In all of the fuss over who is soon going to be saying "Hello, gorgeous" in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, one of the rare casting brouhahas on the Great White Way that has permeated to the level of general public awareness, a salient point has been missed: the transition from Beanie Feldstein to Lea Michele may be of less consequence than the transition from Jane Lynch to Tovah Feldshuh (playing Fanny's mother, for the hopelessly under informed). If Ms. Michele has been angling in one fashion or another for this "role of a lifetime" for what understandably seems like years, the chance to have two erstwhile stars of Glee tread the boards together seems like a missed opportunity, though Feldshuh, a four time Tony nominee, might seem like an odd replacement in this show for any number of reasons. For fans who have only known of Feldshuh's work through more instantly "accessible" media like television, it may come as a surprise then that Funny Girl will not be Feldshuh's first musical on Broadway (she most recently took over the role of Berthe in the revival of Pippin), and in fact one of those four aforementioned Tony nominations came courtesy of her starring role in a musical virtually no one other than diehard trivia buffs (ahem) will have heard of, a short lived 1979 opus entitled Saravá.

Saravá had a rather impressive creative staff, including composer Mitch Leigh (of Man of La Mancha fame), librettist and lyricist N. Richard Nash (whose name might not be instantly recognizable to many, but who wrote the adapted screenplay for the film version of Porgy And Bess, and whose own play The Rainmaker he later helped adapt into the charming musical 110 in the Shade). Saravá was in fact a musicalization of the film currently under discussion, and despite some decent reviews and a whirlwind performance from Feldshuh, the show only managed to last a couple of months. Perhaps the musical would have fared better in Brasil, where Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands made box office history, becoming one of the all time ticket selling champions in that country. And while there is definitely a kind of "nativist" context to the story (beginning with Carnaval), Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands also has a more ecumenical, international flavor which makes it a uniquely enjoyable viewing experience.

Now one of the interesting things about Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is how it is almost a funhouse mirror rejiggering of the venerable Noel Coward play Blithe Spirit (itself musicalized in the little remembered High Spirits, a fun show with a great score and a fantastic performance from Bea Lillie as Madame Arcati that ironically got buried in a season that also offered not just Funny Girl, but another musical which would later be associated with a certain Ms. Streisand, Hello, Dolly!). That said, this film twists things to offer a woman with the spirit of a dead husband and ultimately another (living) husband in tow. There may in fact be no character quite the same as Madame Arcati in this enterprise, but there's still a definite supernatural aura suffusing the piece, which begins with the untimely death of one Vadinho (José Wilker), who is (for a moment, anyway) seen partying hearty during Carnaval. All of this said, the thing that may have helped to scuttle a musical adaptation is that the film focuses repeatedly on the sexual prowess of Vadinho, and there are several scenes documenting intimate relations between him and his wife (and, later, widow) Flor ( Sônia Braga).

If the story sets up the idea that Vadinho is kind of a ne-er-do-well who nonetheless has certain, um, talents, the real comedic energy starts ramping up once Flor gives in to the ministrations of the much more reserved and respectable Teodoro (Mauro Mendonça), who perhaps surprisingly becomes Flor's second husband. The structure here is a bit disjunctive, with things starting (as mentioned) with Vadinho's demise, and then a long sequence documenting the history of his relationship with Flor, before things move on to Flor being haunted by the spirit of Vadinho while also being "romanced" (if you can even call it that) by Teodoro.

If all of these references to various musicals aren't enough already, I'd also mention Black Orpheus in passing, since Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands also exploits the kind of Yoruba infused context that informs many Brasilian traditions (including Carnaval itself). While not a musical really, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands does offer a bit of music and dance, including the sinuous O Que Será by Chico Buarque, sung by Simone.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement Classics, an imprint of Film Movement, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. As is typically the case with releases from this label, there's no real technical data of any kind included, and in fact this release doesn't even have generic "digitally remastered" verbiage that some other Film Movement releases have. The good news here is that this is a very organic looking transfer that has obviously not been digitally tweaked in any meaningful way. The bad news is that that can mean quite a bit of damage, including some pretty drastic scratching (mostly short lived, but recurrent), as well as some inconsistencies in palette and contrast that can lead to occasional issues like crush in the darkest moments. The palette looks a bit faded, skewed toward brown a lot of the time, and as can perhaps be made out in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, there can be a subtle blue cast to things at other times. All of this said, there are still nice moments of vividness and pop, including on some of the outfits worn by women in particular. Detail levels are appealing in close-ups, but can vary pretty noticeably in wider framings.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options. The surround track rather nicely opens things up both in terms of some of the music but also very noticeably in some of the ambient environmental effects (listen, for example, to the difference between the tracks in terms of some of the admittedly minor background birdcalls that dot the burial scene). Outdoor material benefits the most from the sound design, as might be expected, but even quieter interior scenes can offer nice placement of discrete effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Director Bruno Barreto is in English.


• Dona Flor Behind the Scenes (HD; 7:51) is an archival featurette in Portuguese with English subtitles.


• Dona Flor Trailer (HD; 1:36)

Trailers for other releases from Film Movement are also included. As with most Film Movement releases, the disc also offers an About Film Movement option on the Main Menu which leads to text about and a trailer for Film Movement. The nicely appointed booklet contains an interesting essay by producer and costume designer Mary Jane Marcasiano.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of hilariously, there's another connection between the inimitable Tovah Feldshuh, the equally inimitable Barbra Streisand, and a (film) musical. Another of Feldshuh's well deserved Tony nominations was for a non-musical Broadway version of Yentl, which hit the stage several years before the Streisand film was shot. It actually looks like N. Richard Nash fashioned a screenplay for Sarava which hasn't yet been produced, just to tie up all of this tangential trivia. Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands can be occasionally discomfiting, especially in some of the callous behaviors of Vadinho, but it's also often very funny and maybe even a little provocative in its depictions of sexuality. Technical merits are generally solid, and the commentary and insert booklet essay very interesting. Recommended.