In addition to being called Maria, Sonia Braga's character was also called 'Monica' at the beginning of the film. It becomes important in the later denouement of the story.
Shown on Showtime cable in the 1980s in heavily edited form.
This movie was pretty daring for it's time from an LGBT perspective. One example has an airline pilot and co-pilot engaging in homosexual activity in the cockpit during a flight. Later Paulo, despondent over his failing relationship with Maria, has a scene with a transgender individual who devours his blood;..... this movie was made just as the AIDS crisis was starting to scourge throughout the world but in those early days AIDS was not yet fully understood.