Maria Montessori (2023)

[bunniefuu]

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 h* roses are preening

Hey h* branches are greening

Hey h* here comes the spring

Hey h* sun shines in the skies

Hey h* all the girls have eyes

Hey h* 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 h* open those doors

Hey h* my heart is all yours

Hey h* 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 w*r 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 Curires?

There's no Yvonne Curires 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 Curires, 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 prostit*tes

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, prostit*tes

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?

Several.

And don't insist too much

or you'll be the next one.

Lili, my dear friend.

Betsy.

Out of the blue.

You, in Rome?

What a nice surprise

to see you here.

You look stunning.

I can't believe it,

- I dreamed about you last night.

- Did you?

What brings you here?

A bad cough.

The Paris damp...

Doctors told me to

get some sun, so...

What about you?

I've been here a year now.

There's so much to do here.

Hygiene,

illiteracy,

- and poverty...

- Fascinating.

Forgive me, my

escort is waiting.

I'll be seeing you soon.

Shall we do the exercise?

Come, Matteo.

Look at me.

Can you pass me that, Serena?

Look at it, Matteo. Focus.

Focus on it.

Look, Matteo.

Using both hands,

we open and we close.

Close your hands on it.

Close.

Go ahead.

Good for you!

- Good for you!

- Good for you...

You see? The master's

will must always prevail,

not the child's.

Doctor?

I'm going to evaluate

the French girl.

You'll assist me.

Put your feet back.

Tina?

Keep your head up. That's right.

We're going

to measure you.

Stand up straight.

Just like that.

Come with me.

Look at me.

Tina?

Occiput, thirty-seven.

You take the doll, Tina?

Go ahead.

Raise your leg.

Ready?

Almost.

Shall we try again?

Come out.

I know it's hard.

Your piano's out of tune.

We've completed the testing.

And?

It's always hard to

determine the cause,

especially at her age.

But...

she's lacked attention,

care,

everything that could've

helped with her difficulties.

Idiots remain idiots.

There's no cure.

- Take her back, then.

- No!

This place will be just fine.

She can come in the daytime.

It will do her good.

Where will she sleep?

I really need to

get back to Paris.

You'll find similar facilities

in Paris, Dr Bourneville is...

That's impossible.

If a place opens

up, I'll let you know.

I beg you...

This is an

educational institute,

not a orphanage.

Good morning, Rosa.

Hello.

Mario, look.

Mama and papa are here.

How's he doing?

Fine. He's trying to stand up.

Take him.

A piece of apple?

Not the peel, the apple.

Look.

A friend sent it

to me from Paris.

"Lili D'Alengy".

It's madame Curires.

What's she doing in Rome?

Probably hiding the girl.

I had an idea

I wanted to tell you about.

I'm listening.

Couldn't Mario

live at your place?

Whatever for?

Mario's fine where he is.

I could come and

see him more often.

Carlotta lives too far away.

Maria, you know...

that's impossible.

Why?

I'd lose my job,

my reputation.

You're a man.

They wouldn't dare.

Maria, I love you

and I'd do anything for you

but you can't ask me

to dishonor my mother.

- You could say he's your nephew.

- Enough, Maria.

Let's solve this problem

the way we should

have done ages ago.

Marry me.

- We've been through this.

- The situation has changed.

Be realistic, we work

together, we have Mario...

What are you afraid of?

My mother didn't get to study.

But you did.

My father wouldn't allow it.

She obeyed because

she belonged to him.

Marriage isn't an act of

love between two equals.

It's a form of

enslavement, bondage.

Stop it.

You speak as if I

didn't know all that.

I'm not like your father.

I know.

I'll think it over.

Promise.

It's late now.

Your parents...

They'll worry.

Good night, papa.

You idiot!

Look what you've done!

You wreck my whole life.

Stop it or you'll make me fall!

Hang on.

Again.

Raise your arms, open your

hand and get a good grip on the bar.

Go ahead.

Squeeze the bar, like this.

Do it again.

One, two, three, four...

Again.

Yes, that's it.

Hang on to the bar.

Squeeze.

Hang on tight.

Again.

Do it again.

Are you still hungry, my love?

Up the step.

Catch.

Up the step.

Catch.

Come here.

Come.

Very good, Tina.

Circle.

Square.

Jump

and spin.

Do as I do.

Good for you, Tina.

Like this.

No.

You do it, Tina.

Careful.

Square, triangle, circle...

Yes. Very good, Tina.

You look lovely.

Hello Tina.

Come on.

Madame D'Alengy?

Tina has a strong will.

She's made a lot of progress.

Just take the

time to look at her.

I'm busy.

You should stay.

Tina needs you.

She doesn't understand Italian.

I'm not sure she

understands French.

And I don't need her.

Really?

Like a butterfly.

If you can read

this, give me a kiss.

So...

Who knows about feathers?

What's a feather?

Feathers...

are soft

and white.

"Feather".

Repeat after me.

See how I pronounce it.

Good for you.

Go ahead, Ciro.

Let's try to write

the word "feather".

So...

Anna,

write it by hand.

Tina, I'll give you the letters.

In French, it's la plume.

Tina, I'm coming to see you.

Show me how you do it.

We're going to

spell the word plume.

Let me help you.

This is la.

Good.

Plume.

Look at me when I say it.

"U".

Yes.

Very good.

Well done, Tina.

In no way interrupted.

What's going on?

I'm sorry.

But...

They're so happy.

The music has a very...

strange effect on them.

What if an hour of dance and

music followed every hour of study?

Look at me.

Carlotta, come.

Signora Rosa?

Just a minute.

Well done!

Thank you. Maria, bring Mario.

Excuse me.

Of course.

He'd stopped doing that.

He's just imitating

the little one.

That's enough, Mario.

How the little one has grown!

Look,

how healthy she is.

Very healthy.

She adores Mario. She

follows him everywhere.

They're so cute.

I went to see Mario yesterday.

I want him to come and live here

with me, with us.

You know that's impossible.

What's impossible is not

being able to recognize my son.

We could hide him.

If you can read

this, give me a kiss.

One,

two,

and...

three.

Who is it?

There'll be an important

test next month.

I think we can present Tina

along with the other children.

She's ready.

One,

two...

and go.

Who is it?

Mummy?

Yes.

Come.

Do you like it?

Hello.

Hello signora.

Signorina.

What can I do for you?

Erm... the red cape?

For...

I'll get it for you.

Lili? Is that you?

It's Betsy.

Is that you, Lili?

Move.

Just a second.

Let me through, please.

Out!

I wasn't sure it was you.

We haven't seen you in ages.

- I thought you'd gone back to Paris.

- Soon I hope.

Here you are.

It was for the little girl.

Madam?

How nice to run

into you like this.

I'm always glad to see you.

See you soon.

- Goodbye, my friend.

- Goodbye.

Let's go

Let's go on with your exercise.

Pick up your pencil.

Here you go.

Tina?

You wanted to see me?

Yes.

A bed will be

available in a few days.

We lost a child.

We can take Tina

on as a boarder.

Come.

I need you to sign here.

The mother's name.

It's all for the best.

She was a year old when the

doctor told us she was an idiot.

Is that when you left?

You can't imagine my

joy the first time I held her.

She was so tiny,

so lovely.

But she didn't move enough,

or eat enough,

or cry enough.

At 12 months, she

still couldn't sit up.

My husband looked

at her differently.

And then?

With my father's support, his

parents had our marriage annulled.

She was the

result of all my sins.

It wasn't your fault.

Little is expected of women

but I failed at that...

Making a beautiful baby.

Good night, Tina.

Sleep well.

What have you done?

You mustn't touch

the food on the table.

Go outside, Mario. Out!

Alas, I can't carry them both...

Not to mention the older ones.

You know what we can do?

Look what I have for you.

Come here.

See this egg...?

You know what we can do with it?

Yes, the egg.

We just break it like this.

Good, now grab the ladle.

Open it like this.

And the shell is yours to keep.

You can't eat it.

Beat it.

Yes, Mario.

There you go.

They don't want to bother you.

They want to imitate you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Professors,

Ministers,

here, we train

teachers and instructors

and we work with a

group of impaired children

to develop a new,

scientific teaching method.

After a year of experimentation,

we're proud to share

the results of our work.

Thank you.

Let's start with mathematics.

What is 2 times 3?

They asked you

what 2 times 3 is.

It's like when you

go to the store.

You bought two

cent's worth of beans.

Beans are three for a cent.

How many beans do you have?

Six.

Do this subtraction,

10 - 3.

One,

two,

three...

seven.

"Alessandro eats a pear."

Underline the verb.

"Yesterday..."

"Yesterday,

Alessandro

ate

a pear."

Do the mental math,

3 + 3 x 3.

Twelve.

She doesn't speak Italian.

She's a French girl.

What's your name?

What's your name?

Tell us your name.

She doesn't seem to understand.

Can you write your

name on the blackboard?

My name's Tina.

Write this,

"The rabbit

is running in the field."

Do the division,

6 / 3.

Excuse me!

Having worked alongside

my esteemed colleague

Giuseppe Montesano for a year,

I'd like to share with you

my personal conclusions.

Naturally, we've used

the scientific methods

developed by Doctor Seguin,

inspired by the great Itard

and imitated in France

by Doctor Bourneville.

But these methods are useless

without a secret ingredient.

The new pedagogy

must acknowledge the

sublime art of motherhood

in order to protect

the normal and the

abnormal part of society.

It's an education based on love

and symbolized by women,

that enabled us

to present these children

for the primary school exam.

To educate them,

the first thing we

did was love them.

What's this all about?

Why did you bring the

institute's materials?

There was nothing here.

I have to see to

my child's needs.

Why did you leave?

We all looked for you!

- It was a circus!

- It was a huge success!

We've clinched our

subsidies for years to come.

Don't you understand?

What?

What use is success

at so high a cost?

He barely recognizes me.

He calls another woman "mama".

- Children with nannies do that.

- I can't go on like this.

I want to be with my son.

He's a journalist.

A journalist?

Yes.

Children, silence please.

Look straight ahead.

One, two and three!

Signora Montessori, can

you explain something to me?

I look at you and I see a beautiful,

feminine, charming woman.

Where does that virile

energy of yours come from?

If only we could go back to

the days when men wore wigs

and makeup to improve

their appearance.

They were less ugly back then.

More feminine, perhaps.

Many women, including my wife,

are happy to stay home and not work.

They don't want to

take over men's roles.

If women chose their partners

after achieving

economic independence,

men would be forced to improve

compelled by the laws of market.

And the others, unable to

reproduce, would remain single.

Hello, I'm Giuseppe Montesano,

director of the institute.

Come with me. I'll

show you around.

Maria, can you get

back to the children?

No, I'll let you take

care of it. Excuse me.

His name is Mario.

Where is he?

With a nanny

in the country.

And his father?

Is it...?

Giuseppe, yes.

Why don't you all live together?

We'd have to get married.

I don't want to be

anyone's property.

But Giuseppe loves you.

Can we put our fates

in the hands of a

feeling as fickle as love?

Why have a child, then?

At first, I didn't

realize I was pregnant.

I was working non-stop.

It was my mother who noticed

my dresses were

getting tight on me.

Giuseppe and I

saw ourselves as

a modern couple.

We often went to visit

Mario in the country

but our lives

were still in Rome.

But when the institute opened,

our work load got too heavy.

I had no time for our visits.

Bring him to Rome.

Find an apartment,

- a maid to look after him.

- With what money?

Your salary.

I don't get paid

for my work here.

You must be joking.

No.

Only Giuseppe gets paid.

You're an idiot.

You spent long years studying,

you work from dawn to dusk

and yet, you're poor?

You're an idiot.

You already said that.

You're the smartest

woman I've ever met

and you can't afford

things I get in a snap.

Wealth means freedom,

entitlement,

even consideration.

Everything is for sale.

In Paris,

I'm acclaimed by crowds,

imitated by married women,

and worshiped by men I ruin.

To be free,

women have to be rich.

They can play

like this for hours.

They're not playing.

They're working.

Look how serious they are.

Your oldest son

will be reading soon.

Is it the same with

your little idiots?

No, it's very different.

Children at the

institute need guidance.

Whereas these children

pick things up

all by themselves.

It's as if they had an innate

sense of how to use them.

It's astonishing.

It suits you beautifully.

- You're making fun of me.

- Not at all.

It sets off your features.

You'll turn me into a coquette.

I certainly hope so.

You must learn to be attractive,

seduce,

sell yourself.

You're gorgeous, Maria.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thanks to you, I

finally got to meet Tina.

It's so strange...

Her absence weighs on me

but...

I can't stand her presence.

When I look at her...

I think about the girl

she should have been.

Don't be so prideful.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the unique,

genuine,

one and only...

Montessori!

Good evening,

ladies and gentlemen.

In the orthophrenic institute,

along with my colleague

Giuseppe Montesano

who co-directs the institute,

we followed scientific methods

invented by Itard

and Seguin...

No, no. Stop.

Stop dropping names

no one gives a hoot about.

All that scientific

jargon is a bore.

Say "I".

- No.

- Yes.

"I invented a method."

Tell us a story.

Tell us a story in which

you're the heroine.

That's what people expect.

We want to target the

wives of powerful men.

Good evening.

Most of them are clever,

bored from not working,

they pour their energy

into noble causes.

Champagne?

Madam?

For instance,

take our hostess, Betsy.

A remarkable woman.

A theosophist. Powerful.

What does your

future look like, Maria?

I'm going to

revolutionize education.

Really?

Yes.

My intuition is that the methods

developed at the institute

aren't specific to the

education of idiots.

Their key principles

are more rational

than those currently in use.

Go on.

The principle of sl*very

has dominated

schooling up until now.

However,

all forms of sl*very are

disappearing little by little,

even the sexual

sl*very of women.

The history of civilization

is a history of conquest

but also of liberation.

I think the time has

come to liberate childhood

thanks to scientific pedagogy.

In the meantime, Maria

needs a paying job.

Maybe you could do something.

There is no religion...

higher...

than truth.

A greater joy is meaningless...

if that joy...

is a selfish one...

if we don't

sacrifice ourselves...

generously...

for the common good.

Follow the color.

Red.

Betsy has asked me to

teach at the university,

in the women's magisterium.

- Betsy?

- Yes.

A friend. A powerful woman.

Follow the light.

What will you teach?

Anthropology.

Are you doing it for the pay?

If you needed money,

you should have asked me.

I asked you to take

in Mario. You refused.

Is that why you need money?

Yes.

Green!

What about me?

What will people say about me

if you live alone

with our child?

No one will know he's your son.

Blue.

When I began my studies,

it was unthinkable for a

woman to do medicine.

Knowledge of the human body

had to remain a male prerogative.

The course that

scared me the most

and raised the most objections

from my academic superiors

was anatomy.

It was inconceivable for a woman

to find herself,

especially if there

were men around,

in presence of a corpse.

I remember my first class.

I felt tortured

as if my body

were fading away...

dying.

In the distance,

I could see hope glowing.

It was clear,

the path that led there

would be rough,

terrible.

But deep within me

I had faith,

the sense of a calling.

And so...

I drank the bitter cup

to its dregs.

Ever since Eve's original sin,

women have been taught

that knowledge is a sin.

It's not.

Women need to free

themselves from apathy...

and the shadows of ignorance.

They need to appropriate

science for their emancipation.

Women need to get

out of their homes

and bring to the world values

they developed in the private sphere.

Motherhood will then

become a social model

structuring the

whole of society.

Women must be in command of

motherhood rather than enslaved to it.

Motherhood is the

fundamental principle of creation.

It's the source to everything.

And Eve...

Eve is the symbolic

mother of humanity

for she knows

the secrets of life,

sex,

and death.

Come closer.

Excuse me.

My mother,

Teresa Montesano,

who came all the way

from Calabria to visit.

How do you do,

signora Montesano?

Giuseppe's told me

so much about you.

I was just leaving.

How charming.

You have to get to know her.

Did you see the uproar my

lecture caused at the university?

Yes, I did.

You're going too far, Maria.

I can't let you crush me

with your selfish ambition.

The principal called me

in after your little number.

He asked if we used

corpses at the institute

to subvert the youth.

How grotesque.

This isn't the right time.

I've got paperwork

to do for the wedding.

What?

I'm getting married.

To another woman.

Are you joking?

She's been in Rome

for a week now.

She needs an answer.

I don't understand.

You need to make up

your mind about Mario.

Mario?

Yes.

The wedding is in one week.

Either you take him with you

or I declare him as my son

but you won't see him anymore.

It's time to start

practicing what you preach.

A modern woman?

Liberated?

Show them what you really are,

an unwed mother

with a two-year-old son.

Mario!

He's drowning!

You're delirious.

He was so heavy.

You've been lying here

unconscious for three days.

He needs me.

No, lie down.

You need to rest.

Have something to eat.

Thank you.

Can I tell her?

Of course.

Betsy found a house.

A house?

To start a school where children will

learn using the "Montessori method".

I came up with the name.

It has a nice ring.

The Montessori method.

Papa...

That's your name.

It's your name too

and you'll make it famous.

My son,

I live only for you,

everything that's

happening is for you.

That's the way it should be.

I have to leave you.

For your future,

for your happiness,

I'm willing to endure anything.

It's my cross to bear,

my w*r to fight

to conquer the

rights of children.

It's fate,

the sacred call.

One day, I'll come back

and give you everything,

my son.

To you the joy,

to me the hardship.

Maria Montessori went for 12

years without seeing her son

who was eventually

recognized by his father.

In 1907, she founded

the first Casa dei Bambini.

The "Montessori method"

became an instant success.

Mario was 15 when he reunited with

Maria. She introduced him as her nephew.

They became inseparable.

He took his mother's surname.

Sofia... this is for

you, thanks to you.

In memory of Shana DENIS PIRAINO