How Long Is “Possible Loves”?

A man in his early twenties starts thinking about his future and where the woman he loves will figure into it in this romantic comedy-drama from Brazil. It's a cool and rainy night, and Carlos (Murilo Benicio) is waiting outside a movie theater for his girlfriend Julia (Carolina Ferraz) to show up for their date. As Carlos starts to think he's been stood up, his mind wanders, and he finds himself imagining three different scenarios of how Julia might fit into his future. In one, Carlos is a businessman who is married, though not very happily, to a woman named Maria (Beth Goulart). One day, Carlos happens to run into his former girlfriend Julia, and he's soon tempted into infidelity. But does Carlos have the courage to leave Maria and start his life over with Julia? In another daydream, Carlos and Julia were married, but he divorced her when he came out of the closet after falling in love with Pedro (Emilio de Mello). Pedro and Carlos are very happy together, much to the annoyance of Julia, who goes out of her way to make things difficult for her former husband and his new lover. And finally, Carlos imagines himself an overgrown adolescent layabout who still lives with his mom (Irene Ravache) and seems incapable of handling a long-term relationship, though that doesn't stop him from seducing as many women as his circumstances allow. Carlos is urged to consult a computer dating service in hopes of finding a woman he can settle down with; Carlos gives it a try, and discovers his first match is none other that his significant other from college, Julia. Possible Loves was awarded the Latin American Cinema Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.