Bamba, a mischievous roustabout, ends up in the hospital after a night of drunken antics and falls in love with his nurse, Amelia, who marries him and helps him find steady work. Their modest domestic life is disrupted when an aristocratic patient manipulates Amelia into marrying him, setting off a series of improbable but comical twists.
Alberto Cavalcanti occupies a unique place in classic Brazilian cinema as a filmmaker whose career was largely forged abroad, directing extensively in France and the United Kingdom. 'Mulher de Verdade' is one of three films he made after returning to Brazil in 1950, when he was invited to help lead the Vera Cruz studio. Although Cavalcanti’s Brazilian works have often been overlooked, overshadowed by the rise of Cinema Novo and criticized by figures such as Glauber Rocha for "not understanding Brazilian cinema," 'Mulher de Verdade' endures as a richly entertaining screwball comedy, distinguished by its playful treatment of class and social aspiration.