The Midwife

2017 film

14 February 2017 (2017-02-14) (Berlin)
22 March 2017 (2017-03-22) (France)

Running time

117 minutesCountriesFrance
BelgiumLanguageFrenchBudget$8 millionBox office$7.2 million^[1]

The Midwife (French: Sage femme) is a 2017 drama film directed by Martin Provost. It was screened out of competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.^[2]

Plot

Claire is a midwife at a maternity unit, that is due to close. She is contacted by Beatrice, who had been her father's mistress many years before. After thirty years of silence Beatrice has traced Claire, not knowing that her father had committed suicide shortly after she left him. Claire and Beatrice arrange to meet. In spite of her age, Beatrice is very immature and rather extravagant. Claire has been leading a selfless life, concentrating on helping the mothers and babies in her care, and raising her son. She has an apartment in Mantes-la-Jolie and an allotment, where she meets Paul, a long-distance lorry driver in his fifties.

Beatrice is now being treated for a brain tumour and moves in with Claire, who takes on caring for her. Beatrice clearly did love Claire's father, and is distressed by her role in his suicide. She tries to make amends by helping Claire, but she is too ill and disorganised. She eventually leaves, leaving an expensive ring as a keepsake for Claire. Claire is now in a relationship with Paul.

Cast

Catherine Deneuve as Béatrice Sobolevski
Catherine Frot as Claire Breton
Olivier Gourmet as Paul Baron
Quentin Dolmaire as Simon
Mylène Demongeot as Rolande
Pauline Etienne as Cécile Amado
Karidja Touré as Madame Naja
Audrey Dana as The chief nurse

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 73 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.^[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[4] Both Vikram Murthi of RogerEbert.com^[5] and Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5, with the latter lauded the roles of lead actresses by saying that "Catherine Deneuve and Catherine Frot give it their all in a moving, verging on sentimental, tale of homewrecking and home truths".^[6]

The Midwife grossed $7.2 million at the box office.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Midwife (2017) - International Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
^ "Berlinale 2017: Competition and Berlinale Special Are Complete". Berlinale. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ "The Midwife (Sage femme) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
^ "The Midwife Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
^ Murthi, Vikram Murthi (21 July 2017). "The Midwife". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
^ Bradshaw, Peter (7 July 2017). "The Midwife review – old wounds reopened in emotional two-hander". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 March 2021.