When a Man Plays Midwife: This positive and uplifting film with Karin Viard is a must-see at the cinema

The Wise Man, in theaters March 15, is director Jennifer Devolder’s third feature film, Before You and And Suddenly I Miss All That’s Lost.

This time the filmmaker presents Leopold, who is camped by Melvin Boomer. After failing a medical exam, a young man joins a midwifery school by default and hides the truth from those around him.

While he plunges into this exclusively female environment without conviction, his meeting with Nathalie (Karin Viard), an experienced midwife with a passionate personality, will change his view of this fascinating world and shatter his convictions.

Change the codes

Jennifer Devolder started from an idea where the classic issue of gender and all the inequalities of access to work were reversed, that is, a situation where men had to find their place in the ultra-feminized.

“Midwifery training was opened to men in 1982. However, the latter remain a very small minority with only 4.5% of active midwives. Among these men, most work in hospitals. None are teachers.”The director explains.

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As part of researching the needs of the feature film, Jennifer Devolder and her team did an internship at a hospital shortly before Covid. They were able to interview caregivers, male and female midwives, all medical staff, but also parents.

The members of the film crew wanted to know everything about what happens in the maternity ward of the public hospital. It was then that they realized that each birth has its own history and its share of unpredictable incidents.

They have “Also struck by population mixing and the psychological, social and economic distress that prevails in hospitals”– says Jennifer Devolder. It was vital to the filmmaker that the film was alert to the authenticity of the setting presented.

Thus, the film stars real midwives and real caregivers. “There are things you don’t realize even after you’ve done your internship in a hospital”– says the director.

Karin Viard or nothing

The role of Natalie was written for Karin Viard. Jennifer Devolder was relieved that she got the role because she couldn’t see who could replace her. On the other hand, casting was arranged for the character of Leo. Jennifer Devolder and David Bertrand, casting directors, saw more than 200 guys.

Melvin Boomer was one of the first to audition. At first the screenwriter thought he was the best performer, but it was the first session and he thought he needed to see the others before making a decision.

“Then I saw him again, a second and a third time, and we did a few tests with Karin. At that point, I already knew I was going to give the part, but not her!”The director recalls.

A real maternity ward?

Sage-Homme was filmed near Nancy at the Brabois Hospital located in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy. This facility, soon to be demolished, was used for the exterior and the hall.

Because it was impossible to invest in a real maternity ward in working order for three weeks, production designer Jean-Marc Tran Tan Ba ​​recreated one!

The grandmother’s room, the maternity rooms, the building, the corridors, the hall, the waiting room, but also the outer alley… everything was there! The maternity ward was not built in a studio, but on a real location to emphasize realism.

Sage-Homme hits theaters on March 15.