Engraçadinha (1981)

Synopsis:
*This synopsis contains spoilers and also the depiction of extremely disturbing or unpleasant situations or events*
Engraçadinha is engaged to Zózimo but loves her cousin Sílvio, who is in turn engaged to Letícia. Engraçadinha seduces Sílvio and then fakes a pregnancy. Letícia reacts with surprising abnegation to the news of the alleged pregnancy, even supporting the idea of the marriage of Engraçadinha and Sílvio. Sílvio, on the other hand, is upset with the whole situation and nurtures a mix of lust and hatred towards Engraçadinha. When Engraçadinha tells her father (name Arnaldo) about her "condition", he gets alarmed, and reveals that Sílvio is in reality not her cousin, but her brother. He arranges for her to see an abortionist, who will also perform a surgical restoration of Engraçadinha's virginity. Meanwhile, Letícia confesses to Engraçadinha that she is in love with her, a feeling she has been hiding since when both were children and played together. Engraçadinha rejects Letícia, calling her a pervert. Engraçadinha meets with her father and reveals to him that her pregnancy is faked; her father keeps the appointment with the doctor anyway, to see that her virginity is restored. He tells Letícia to accompany Engraçadinha to the doctor on the following day, and to sleep with her that night. Engraçadinha offers the bed to Letícia and sleeps on the floor. During the night, Sílvio comes to the bedroom and has sex with Letícia thinking that she is Engraçadinha; the latter lays silent on the floor, watching them. In the following day, they go see the doctor, but we never get to know whether Engraçadinha really went through with the operation, since the doctor gave her the option to back out on it. Later, Engraçadinha reveals to Sílvio that he actually made love to Letícia the night before. Sílvio proposes to meet the two of them again that night, to which they agree. Once he enters the bedroom where both are, Sílvio proposes to go down to the library alone with Engraçadinha. There, Engraçadinha reveals to him that they are brother and sister. They decide to make love anyway. In the morning, Sílvio picks up a razor and cuts off his own penis, and then is taken by Arnaldo to a hospital, in the hope of a reimplant. After he learns this is impossible, Arnaldo returns to his house and commits suicide.
*End of spoilers and of disturbing and unpleasant situations and events*

Appraisal: This film is based on a trashy serial that was published in a Brazilian newspaper from 1959 to 1960 for the consumption of people with very low literary demands, and decades later was given an art status simply because it was written by Brazil's most respected playwright -- actually he did it merely as a source of extra income. On top of its ludicrously nonsensical plot, the direction is virtually inexistent -- the decoupage is moronic; the framings are ugly; there is no momentum to the narrative. The cast does a heroically decent job, considering the poor material in its hands.
Rating: 8