The film follows the story of two Italian immigrant couples living in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the early 20th century; Teresa (Patrícia Pillar) and Angelo (Alexandre Paternost) and Pierina (Glória Pires) and Massimo (Bruno Campos). While the couples struggle for survival in their new country, an unexpected love between Massimo and Teresa emerges. They fight against family and cultural traditions and head to a new destiny, leaving their partners behind. Quatrilho is the name of a card game in which the player has to betray his partner to win. It is also a reference to the Portuguese language word quatro, which means four. The film was also advertised as O Qu4trilho.
Beside its Academy Award nomination, the film won three awards at the Havana Film Festival: Best Actress for Glória Pires, Best Art Direction and Best Music. Pires also won the São Paulo Association of Art Critics trophy for Best Actress for her performance in the film.
