In 1925, Gabriela became the chef, mistress, and wife of Nacib, a bar owner in a coastal town in Brazil, run by a local colonel. Nacib was tired of Gabriela's uneducated lifestyle, and when he found her in bed with his friend Tonico, he declared the marriage invalid. The political style of the town is slightly modernized, with Gabriela returning as Nacib's mistress. Gabriela "is adapted from the novel" Gabriela, Cloff, and Cinamon "by Jorge Amado, which is also a typical source of Brazilian television soap operas. The background of this movie is set in 1925 (when the novel was first published), with Marcello Mastrioani playing Nacib, a bartender from the village of Ba'an Paratti. When drought strikes the surrounding countryside, messy but sexy Gabriela (played by Sonia Braga) and some friends and relatives stroll to Paratti. Nacib was immediately drawn to Gabriela's earthy sexiness and hired her as a chef and potential lover. Nacib was jealous of the local men's attention to Gabriela and decided to marry her, then ordered her to dress more conservatively. But Gabriela couldn't help but lose her sexual direction, so Nacib was forced to undergo a major character transition in the movie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela , _ Kravo _ Canela