Neuf mois (1994)
Directed by Patrick Braoudé

Film Review

The multi-talented Patrick Braoudé wrote, directed and starred in this anarchic comedy which somehow manages to make light of the most stressful nine months in any couple's relationship. Whilst some of the comic situations are painfully laboured (no pun intended) Braoudé shows great originality in both his writing and directing, making this a fast-paced comedy with an unusual flavour.

Annoyingly, the film is somewhat marred by some very silly slapstick, particularly in its last ten minutes.  This is just about made up for by some odd surreal touches which you would not expect to find in a mainstream French comedy.  The film makes very few concessions to good taste, however.  If the intimate details of pregnancy we are shown doesn't cause you to vomit over your popcorn, it could well put you off having children for life.  Maybe Patrick Braoudé's intention was to solve the problem of birth control...

This film was (predictably) followed by an American remake Nine Months (1995), directed by Chris Columbus with High Grant in the role of Samuel.  Typically, the original French film is marginally better than its remake. Braoudé's next film, Amour et confusions (1997), takes a wryly comic look at male-female relationships at the dawn of the new millennium.

Film Synopsis

Like all men, psychiatrist Samuel is not well equipped to deal with his first pregnancy.  He is unlikely to get much sympathy from his friend Marc, who has just left his wife because he cannot agree to start a family, nor from Georges and Dominique, who are resigned to the fact that their fourth child is on the way.  When he first receives the news that he is soon to become a father Samuel is over the moon, but it isn't long before he begins to have second thoughts.  As Mathilde begins to endure the inconveniences of early pregnancy and strange cravings she never had before, such as eating raw fennel, Samuel is haunted by dreams of what his son will be like when he starts to grow up.  By the fourth month of the pregnancy, Samuel and Mathilde can no longer stand each other and so they decide to separate.  Samuel begins a new relationship with Lili, a waitress, and is then admitted to hospital for what he thinks is appendicitis but is in fact a sympathetic pregnancy.  It is only a month before the baby is due that Samuel's paternal instincts kick in and he is able to patch things up with Mathilde.  However, the drama is far from over...