Maria Montessori. The secrets of the famous teacher are revealed in a biopic

At the end of the 19th century^e century, feminist writer Sarah Grand coined the term “new woman” (“new woman”) to tell about the emancipation of those pioneers who overcame the boundaries of society at that time. Maria Montessori, a doctor and teacher, was one of them. It is the portrait of this rebellious spirit, who has sacrificed everything for his ambitions, that Lea Todorov paints. The new womanhis first feature film dedicated to the creation of the famous Montessori method.

In 1900, Maria (played by Jasmine Trinca) runs a clinic with her lover, Giuseppe Montesano. Specializing in child psychiatry, she looks at the children society ignores, the ones we call “idiots,” “defectives.” Influenced by the work of pedagogues Jean Itard and Edouard Seguin, he developed for his residents an education based on senses, observation, imitation… “He had expectations of these children, he wanted to create a future for them, to give them a place. in society,” says the director, who is more sensitive in this matter because his daughter was born with a genetic difference. “Today we are still mainly in the logic of the assistant. We think it’s great that they’re in school. It was important for me to show the demands that Maria had towards them.”

The hidden thread

But this demand comes at a price, and the Italian prioritizes his mission over his motherhood. In 1898, she hid her son Mario, born out of wedlock with Montesano, in a farmhouse where he was raised by a nanny. “This life choice may seem counterintuitive for such a symbol of self-sacrifice, who dedicated her life to the children of others. It’s this dichotomy that I loved to tell.” Clinging to his freedom, and despite the marriage proposal, the scientist rejects his lover in order not to fall into slavery. She marries someone else and regains custody of their son. “Raised by a liberal mother, Maria had a keen understanding of her times. He had already defied his father, who had refused to let him study medicine, and had gained a freedom that he refused to lose for love. I’m not an absolute fan of what she’s been able to do, the director continues, but there’s something beautiful about her youthful enthusiasm that’s inseparable from her feminism and desire to help the most disadvantaged. Maria Montessori didn’t find her son until ten years later, when she was traveling the world promoting her method.

“Over time, Maria fell into dogmatism, and we can question the evolution of her method. But neuroscience supports many of his hypotheses. It is interesting to note that this method, perceived as elitist, was born in a very working-class area of ​​Rome for neuroatypical children or children with disabilities. It is often by taking an interest in the most vulnerable class that society begins to think about its transformation.”

new wife With Lea Todorov, Jasmin Trinka, Leila Bekhti… Released on March 13.