''A Brother's Love'' (french: La femme de mon frère, lit=My Brother's Wife) is a 2019 Canadian

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by

Monia Chokri Monia Chokri (born 27 June 1982) is a Canadian actress and film director. Life and career Born in Quebec City in 1982, she began her acting career after she completed her studies at Montreal's Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in 2005. Her mother is ...

. It had its world premiere in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section of the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film ''Parasite'', directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became t ...

. It was released theatrically in Canada on 7 June 2019 by

Les Films Séville Les Films Séville (Formerly René Malo Vidéo and Malofilm, an international unit known as Seville International) is a Canadian film distributor company and a division of Entertainment One. First based on Saint-André Boulevard in 1983, it moved ...

. The film stars

Anne-Élisabeth Bossé Anne-Élisabeth Bossé is a Canadian actress from Repentigny, Quebec.

as Sophia, an immature university graduate student who is forced to reassess her life when her brother Karim (

Patrick Hivon Patrick Hivon (born July 5, 1975) is a Canadian actor from Montreal, Quebec. He was a Jutra Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor at the 17th Jutra Awards in 2015 for ''Guardian Angel (L'Ange gardien)'', a Gémeaux Award nominee as Best Suppor ...

), with whom she has always had a very close and

codependent In sociology, codependency is a theory that attempts to explain imbalanced relationships where one person enables another person's self-destructive behavior such as addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility, or under-achiev ...

relationship, falls in love with her gynecologist Éloise (

Evelyne Brochu Evelyne Brochu (born November 17, 1982) is a Canadian actress. In 2013, she became well known for her English-speaking role as Delphine Cormier, a French scientist on the hit Canadian science fiction thriller TV series ''Orphan Black.'' Early l ...

Plot

Sophia earns her PhD for her thesis on

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...

, but discovers a lack of teaching positions available in her field and is saddled with

student debt Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, formerly withdrawn, or graduated student to a lending institution, or to a financial institution. The amount that is loaned, often referred to as a ''student loan'' or the debts may be ...

. At age 35, she lives rent-free with her brother Karim and leads tours at a local

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

. Pregnant, Sophia seeks an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and she and Karim meet Eloïse, a doctor. Eloïse recognizes Karim as a man she met and slept with when she first moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

several years ago. Although Karim does not remember Eloïse, they agree to see each other again. After the abortion, Sophia tells Karim he should date a woman like Eloïse, but is turned off when he replies he will see Eloïse herself. Sophia loses her job at the gallery and decides to write a novel. She returns to Karim's apartment and speaks loudly about how she imagined Karim's date with Eloïse went, speculating Eloïse is frigid and shallow. Sophia is embarrassed to see Eloïse is in the apartment. Envious and concerned about Karim entering into an increasingly serious relationship, Sophia watches Eloïse as she interacts with Karim. Eloïse and Karim take Sophia to a dinner, and Eloïse also brings her best friend Jasmin, a male

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. Concerned she has been lured into a double date, Sophia is offended when Jasmin says giving birth is the most important event of a woman's life; Sophia never wants to have children. Jasmin and Sophia share a taxi, and Jasmin asks to see her again, though Sophia is reluctant. Eloïse then joins Karim and Sophia in a dinner with their parents. There, Sophia engages in a heated argument over her family, saying the world is overpopulated (when Eloïse expresses a desire for children) and her eight years of education were for nothing. Sophia storms out and refuses to apologize. She leaves Karim's apartment for a room at Jasmin's apartment; she also accepts a job as a French-language tutor for immigrants in the suburbs. Jasmin and Sophia have sex; the next morning, Sophia rushes to her new job and struggles on where to begin. Sophia visits Eloïse in her office and tearfully apologizes for her behaviour at their last dinner. She confesses she had never seen her brother so happy. Eloïse replies by comparing the sibling relationship to

atomic theory Atomic theory is the scientific theory that matter is composed of particles called atoms. Atomic theory traces its origins to an ancient philosophical tradition known as atomism. According to this idea, if one were to take a lump of matter a ...

; since people are made up of atoms, they inherit their atoms from their parents, and she understands Karim and Sophia share a connection.

Cast

Anne-Élisabeth Bossé Anne-Élisabeth Bossé is a Canadian actress from Repentigny, Quebec.

as Sophia *

as Karim *

as Eloïse
Mani Soleymanlou
as Jasmin *

Magalie Lépine-Blondeau Magalie Lépine-Blondeau (born August 18, 1982) is a Canadian actress and television host. Biography Magalie Lépine-Blondeau studied theater at Cégep de Saint-Laurent, then at The National Theater School of Canada. After she obtained her d ...

as Anabelle Lajoie *

Sasson Gabai Sasson Gabai (or Gabay; he, ששון גבאי; born ) is an Israeli actor. He is the winner of an Ophir Award, Asia Pacific Screen Award (nominated), European Film Awards and Jerusalem Film Festival in 2007 as Best Actor in the highly acclaime ...

as Hichem *

Niels Schneider Niels Schneider (; born 18 June 1987) is a Franco-Canadian actor who has appeared in more than thirty films since 2007. Born in Paris, naturalized Canadian, Schneider moved to Montreal at the age of 9 to start his career doing voice-over jobs. ...

as Alex *

Mylène Mackay Mylène Mackay (born 7 July 1987) is a Canadian actress. She received a Canadian Screen Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards for her performance in '' Endorphine''. In 2016, she appeared as Nelly Arcan ...

as Emilie *

Micheline Bernard Micheline Bernard (born May 15, 1955) is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her performances in the films '' Small Blind (La mise à l'aveugle)'', for which she received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Actress at the 15th Jutra Awards in ...

as Lucie

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brother's Love, A 2019 films 2019 comedy-drama films 2010s Canadian films 2010s French-language films Canadian comedy-drama films Films about siblings Films directed by Monia Chokri Films set in Montreal Films shot in Montreal French-language Canadian films