Fails the Bechdel test

Nine Days

Name: Nine Days
Released: 2021

2021. Directed by Edson Oda, written by Edson Oda.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
5 women characters. 5 of them speak.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

Will (Winston Duke) spends his days in a remote outpost watching the live Point of View (POV) on TV's of people going about their lives, until one subject perishes, leaving a vacancy for a new life on earth. Soon, several candidates - unborn souls - arrive at Will's to undergo tests determining their fitness, facing oblivion when they are deemed unsuitable. But Will soon faces his own existential challenge in the form of free-spirited Emma (Zazie Beetz), a candidate who is not like the others, forcing him to turn within and reckon with his own tumultuous past. Fueled by unexpected power, he discovers a bold new path forward in his own life. Making his feature-film debut after a series of highly acclaimed and award-winning short films and music videos, Japanese Brazilian director Edson Oda delivers a heartfelt and meditative vision of human souls in limbo, aching to be born against unimaginable odds, yet hindered by forces beyond their will.

Released: 30 Jul 2021
Genres: Drama, Fantasy
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.8 / 10
Metascore: 72 / 100
Awards: 5 wins & 22 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Will 311 lines, man
Kyo 152 lines, man
Emma 107 lines, woman
Kane 36 lines, man
Alexander 34 lines, man
Maria 25 lines, woman
Anne 17 lines
Mike 14 lines, man
Colleen 9 lines, woman
Woman 8 lines, woman

Full cast, 29 people

Winston Duke as Will
Zazie Beetz as Emma
Benedict Wong as Kyo
David Rysdahl as Mike
Arianna Ortiz as Maria
Tony Hale as Alexander
Bill Skarsgård as Kane
Perry Smith as Anne
Geraldine Hughes as Colleen
Brandy Pitcher as Amanda's Mom
Eric Ramaekers as Amanda's Dad
Eliza de Azevedo Brown as Amanda (8 years old)
Lisa Starrett as Amanda
Jeffrey Hanson as Conductor
Elizaveta Shaikhulina as Violinist
Taran Marshall as Bully
Caleb Fralick as Bully 2
Sterlin English as Rick (14 Years Old)
Erika Vasquez as Luiza
Alvaro Cortez as Fernando
Cherie Julander as Aunt / Cecily's Mom
Amy Brown as Candidate 1
David H. Stevens as Candidate 2
Anthony Leger as Candidate 3
Liliana Arredondo as Officer 2
Victor Medina as Officer 3
Bryce Fernelius as Officer 1
Jemesa Snuka as Fugitive
Tony Rivas as Priest Officiant

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 138

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 3	1	4
4 to 6	0	0
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	0	35
16 to 18	0	15
19 to 21	3	30
22 to 24	0	11
25 to 27	2	3
28 to 30	0	10
31 to 33	1	4
34 to 36	0	9
37 to 39	0	3
40 to 42	19	58
43 to 45	1	8
46 to 48	0	14
49 to 51	0	0
52 to 54	11	24
55 to 57	0	0
58 to 60	3	14
61 to 63	3	10
64 to 66	9	8
67 to 69	19	22
70 to 72	8	30
73 to 75	2	8
76 to 78	3	9
79 to 81	4	9
82 to 84	10	11
85 to 87	1	0
88 to 90	2	6
91 to 93	5	10
94 to 96	6	19
97 to 99	9	17
100 to 102	9	18
103 to 105	0	17
106 to 108	0	24
109 to 111	6	15
112 to 114	0	30
115 to 117	0	0
118 to 120	5	8
121 to 123	12	28
124 to 126	0	7
127 to 129	6	5
130 to 132	0	0
133 to 135	0	0
136 to 138	0	9

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 22 are women's.

160 lines from women, 562 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

5 women and 9 men in the cast. 5 women and 8 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 9 of 774. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 105 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 21% of the words (1,513), men 79% (5,744). Women have 22% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 19% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Edson Oda (man)
Written by: Edson Oda (man)
Produced by: Matthew Lindner (man), Jason Michael Berman (man), Laura Tunstall (gender not listed), Mette-Marie Kongsved (gender not listed), Datari Turner (man)
Shot by: Wyatt Garfield (man)
Edited by: Michael Taylor (man), Jeff Betancourt (man)
Music by: Antonio Pinto (man)
Production design by: Dan Hermansen (man)
Costumes by: Fernando Rodriguez (man)
Cast by: Jessica Kelly (woman), Kate Geller (woman)