Maria Montessori (La Nouvelle femme)

My son,

I'm only your mother.

But you're my hero,

my only love,

you mean the world to me.

Everything I accomplish

until the day I die

will be for you.

MARIA MONTESSORI

Hey ho roses are preening

Hey ho branches are greening

Hey ho here comes the spring

Hey ho sun shines in the skies

Hey ho all the girls have eyes

Hey ho that shine just as bright

What are you doing?

You shouldn't be sleeping

It's time you woke up

The whole world is new

Hey ho open those doors

Hey ho my heart is all yours

Hey ho we should be in love

- That was beautiful. - Thank you.

Was the harvest good?

Yes, one bouquet after another.

The lilies?

A soldier.

General?

No. Lieutenant-colonel, I believe.

Not enough war to be promoted.

- The orchid? - A young lad.

Cute, with red cheeks,

lives with his mummy

but he'd give up everything to make you happy.

First, he'd fall in love,

then he'd beat me.

Yes.

Him or his mother.

There's a more appealing offer.

The roses?

The Italian prince.

He left a costume for you.

He insists on seeing you tonight.

Again?

What will it be this time?

He wants to conquer me.

He has the means

and we have the needs.

Your crusader has arrived, Lili.

Shall we go?

Good evening, my prince.

What is this?!

Ready for battle?

- The duchess wound up under the table. - Again?

Then we went to the stables

for what I believed to be my farewell gift.

A horse?

He wanted me to taste the milk of his Kirghiz mare.

I claimed his strongest stallion for my trouble.

Not bad.

And he invited me to Rome.

Rome is neither London nor Berlin.

- Hello ma'am. - What is it?

Yvonne Curières?

There's no Yvonne Curières here.

I'll handle it.

Go.

Leave us.

- Here. - Thank you, sir.

It wasn't hard to find you.

I wasn't hiding.

You've changed.

Your cheeks have hollowed out.

Mother passed away.

You came to Paris to tell me that?

You could have sent a letter.

Don't forget your legacy, it's your responsibility now.

Did you really think we'd keep her after mother's death?

I'm sure she'll be a hit with your admirers.

Come back next week. Goodbye.

Lili?

Come in.

It was the tailor.

Everyone will know within days

and the press within a week.

Outside of Paris?

Might give you an extra week.

I'll go pack your suitcases.

For the little one.

My cousin's son went there.

Sorry?

My cousin's son.

Like the little one.

Impaired.

Good day, madam.

How can I help you?

I'm waiting for the doctor.

Tell him to come.

Maria Montessori,

medical doctor.

How can I help you?

It's for the child.

You do take children like that?

Her age?

Nine, I think.

Is she your daughter?

No... She's my niece.

She's surprisingly corpulent.

- Are you the one who looks after her? - No.

What does she eat?

I have no idea.

Come. Let's walk.

Come here.

When did she learn to walk?

I don't know.

She's only been with me a few weeks.

Can she talk?

Can you take her in?

I can pay, just tell me what it costs.

This is a public institute.

No one pays.

We're not taking in new boarders at the moment.

But she could come in the daytime.

We don't accept new children

until we're certain they can benefit from our reeducation methods.

So you'll have to come back

if you want us to test...

You didn't tell me her name.

Tina.

Her name is Tina.

Lovely name. Welcome, Tina.

Can you hear me?

Giuseppe Montesano,

my colleague and co-director of the institute.

How do you do?

Madame Curières, from France, and little Tina.

Maria, they're waiting for us. We have to go.

Bye, Tina.

Goodbye.

But...

Monday, eight o'clock?

Dr Montesano,

you honor us with your presence.

Would you be so kind as to explain to us

how baths can cure idiocy?

You proved the existence of a strong connection

between general sensitivity and moral sentiment.

Criminals and prostitutes tend to have underdeveloped

pain and tactile sensations.

We've found the same to be true of the mentally impaired.

So you support my theory,

criminals, prostitutes and the mentally impaired

belong to the same category of degenerates

undermining our country's race?

Not if we treat them.

Baths develop skin sensitivity

and invigorate muscle tissue.

Alternating hot and cold baths

draws the children's attention to the outside world,

thus preparing them to receive an education.

Aren't these poor children simply ill?

Do they really belong in a pedagogical institute?

It has now been proven that idiot children can learn.

Knowing this, it would be inhuman

to leave them in an asylum.

We need to be reasonable economically.

Caring for idiots in an asylum is costly.

The methods we use at the institute, are among the most modern

in the world.

They enable the children to learn, read, write, count

but also to work

and make a useful contribution to society.

That's why we asked you to run this institute.

But...

When will there be results?

Within a few months, children of the institute will be able

to take the same exam normal children do.

I very much doubt

baths will qualify them for the exam.

But we'll be there

to test

your trained seals,

signora Montessori.

If I, a woman, managed to become a doctor,

there's hope for these little idiots.

Maria.

I thought he was going to burst with rage.

He put me through hell in university, he deserves it.

You have debts?

How did you guess?

I'm often shown off as a sign of wealth.

French women are luxury items to be flaunted.

And Italian women?

Domestic furniture.

Speaking of which, do you like your apartment?

Very much.

Will you have me over?

Not tonight.

You've been here two weeks and your door remains closed.

Are you hiding a corpse in my apartment?