How to Lose a Wife and Find a Lover 1978

Alberto, the publicity manager for a major dairy company, returns home early after crashing into the car of a beautiful woman named Eleonora. He finds his wife in the bath and a plumber hiding naked in the shower, an incident that plunges him into a suicidal mood. He seeks help from a psychoanalyst. The other patient is Eleonora, who is also contemplating suicide after her husband, Arturo, has betrayed her. Each is advised separately to take a rest in the mountains.

By chance, both end up in the same tiny, remote inn, though Alberto does not recognize the woman whose car he collided with months earlier. A young friend of Eleonora named Marisa arrives to find there are no spare rooms, so she shares Eleonora’s bed.

In the evenings the landlord pours the grappa liberally, and while Eleonora has stepped out for some fresh air, a very drunk Alberto slips into bed with Marisa. She is sent home, but Alberto grows bolder, and beds the large but equally willing landlady. After his room floods, he staggers into Eleonora’s bed once more. In the morning a furious Eleonora heads out to ski, with Alberto following in an attempt to explain. The two crash into a haystack, where sounds and movements suggest they consummate their attraction. A mountain rescue team discovers them, and the volunteer chaplain marries the unconscious couple in articulo mortis.

Once recovered, Alberto returns to work, but Eleonora has disappeared, leaving no address or telephone. When a casting is held for models to appear in the company’s advertisements, one hopeful is Marisa, who has been given a lift to the offices by Eleonora. Alberto peers out the window and finally sees her at last.