Sage femme (2017)

A midwife gets unexpected news from her father's old mistress.

Director:

Martin Provost

Writers:

Martin Provost (dialogue), Martin Provost (screenplay)

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, Catherine Frot, Olivier Gourmet

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Deneuve	...	Béatrice Sobo dite Sobolevski
Catherine Frot	...	Claire Breton
Olivier Gourmet	...	Paul Baron
Quentin Dolmaire	...	Simon
Mylène Demongeot	...	Rolande
Pauline Etienne	...	Cécile Amado - une patiente
Audrey Dana	...	La chef de service hôpital moderne
Pauline Parigot	...	Lucie
Marie Gili-Pierre	...	Evelyne
Jeanne Rosa	...	Élodie
Élise Oppong	...	Sophie
Ingrid Heiderscheidt	...	L'hôtesse d'accueil de la maternité
Jacques Mechelany	...	Francis
Ana Rodriguez	...	Patiente du bébé au cordon enroulé
Karidja Touré	...	Madame Naja - une patiente

Storyline

Claire is a midwife in a maternity hospital. She is humane and helpful and gives herself entirely to her patients. But despite that her life is not a bed of roses. Her hospital is about to close its doors and the devoted woman is determined not to work in the new modern hospital she regards as a "baby factory". Her personal life is no triumph either: she is single and does not make friends easily. To make matters worse, her student son Simon is gradually leaving home, as he is developing a relationship with his new sweetheart Lucie. It is the moment that Béatrice, her dead father's former mistress, chooses to resurface. The eccentric, spendthrift, sensual, amoral woman (Claire's exact opposite in fact) is really the last kind of person she needs to mix with. But Béatrice soon informs her that she suffers from brain cancer and she has nobody else to turn to. Torn between rejection and duty, what is Claire going to do?

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Plot Keywords:

midwife | brain cancer | bicycle | pregnancy | hospital | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

21 July 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

El reencuentro

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,341, 23 July 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$603,582, 26 October 2017

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$402,918, 20 August 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Curiosa Films, France 3 Cinéma, Versus Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The birthing scenes were filmed in Belgium as it is prohibited by law to film babies younger than 3 months old in France.

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Connections

Referenced in Breakfast: Episode dated 8 July 2017 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Les loups sont entrés dans Paris
Written by Albert Vidalie and Louis Bessières
Performed by Serge Reggiani

User Reviews

Mesmerizing pas-de-deux with two terrific Catherines

Viewed at the 2017 Berlin Film festival. MIDWIFE -- (Sage Femme) with Catherine Deneuve (73) and Catherine Frot. The second film of the day at the lavish Zoo Palace venue, was "Sage-Femme" which does not mean "Wise woman" but is the French term for a midwife. Catherine Frot, (born 1956) is the attractive somewhat older woman Claire (she has a grown son) who is a dedicated professional deliverer of babies (we see a number of such deliveries in bloody stomach churning closeups of new borns) but this is not the main story. It turns out that Claire is the resentful daughter of a wayward mother who left home thirty years earlier, Catherine Deneuve. Once Deneuve (still looking good at 73) enters the picture the story becomes a battle of wills between two strong women but when we find that Deneuve is suffering from a terminal brain cancer daughter Claire, until now full of resentment and anger, relents and takes her in.

Claire is a health food advocate and Deneuve just the opposite. She loves her red meat and wine even if it will kill her. There is a side story involving a single unattractive middle aged truck driver who falls in love with Claire and she more or less out of loneliness accepts his advances. But this is excess baggage only there to advance the basic plot between the two intense Catherines. Many little details such as a valuable family ring enter into the story but at the end, Deneuve, rather than continuing to be a burden on Claire literally jumps in the lake (a pond near the vegetable garden Claire maintains) leaving a most touching Farewell note, bearing only an imprint of her lipstick and the ring that has kept changing fingers. This is a very strong thespian pas-de-deux, directed by Martin Provost, and is another strong contender for a best acress bear -- and a best co-star prize, if there was such an award, for Deneuve.

image1.jpegThe Two Catherines, Deneueve and Frot, in "Sage-Femme"