Maria Goretti

1

What happened?

PONTINE MARSHES:

JULY 5, 1902

What's wrong?

Grab a blanket, too-

Come on!

Murderer!

Kill him!

Stop!

The prisoner is now

in the hands of justice!

Move away!

Mommy!

Mommy!

Maria!

Maria!

Make way!

Let us through!

You wretch!

Murderer!

Murderer!

Go on!

Mother-

I didn't give in to him-

He's killed me-

Lie her on her side-

They're deep wounds here, too-

Doctor, is it serious?

Doctor, how is Maria?

I've done all I can-

She has to get some rest now-

Mother-

My darling-

I'm fine now-

The children?

They're fine -

they are at home-

She came round

during the operation

and was awake throughout-

I'm thirsty-

May I have some water?

No liquids-

I'm very sorry-

All we can do now---

is wait-

- Maria?

- She's in there, Father-

Come with me,

for the child's sake-

It will be a miracle

if she is able to sleep-

She has to get

her strength back-

You stay, Father-

Let's hope the child---

will pull through-

Maria-

Murdering a child like that---

How can it come to that?

PONTINE MARSHES:

TWO YEARS EARLIER

Stop!

Stop!

I'm happy to help you-

What's going on?

What happened to you?

Move, Father!

This is the third time

he's stolen from the farm-

So?

Do you want to take justice

in your own hands?

I won't tell him again!

We have orders to take

him back to the master-

He will decide-

That's enough-

Leave him alone-

Let us get a good look

at him

or the master

will take it out on us-

I said to leave him alone-

Who are you?

I've never seen you

in church-

Where do you come from?

I'm on my way to Nettuno

to take up my new post-

We'll meet again very soon-

Let's go, Simmata-

The master can deal with it-

Here-

Everything's fine-

Goodbye-

Thank goodness I came to bring

some comfort to these women-

Take it easy-

You're not in any danger-

It's not fear -

he's got malaria-

I've seen you before-

You're a seasonal worker-

Please don't give me away,

I can't lose my job-

My children are hungry---

and we can't make ends meet-

You have my word,

now look after yourself-

I'm fine-

I can manage-

Most of the farm workers

here suffer from malaria-

Who is the landowner here?

If you want to meet

Count Mazzoleni,

you'll find him at home

after lunch-

My name's Elena Mazzoleni-

I'm his wife-

Thank you-

Malaria-

Once you've got it,

you never get rid of it-

Can't anything be done?

Is that man just doomed to die?

You can only prevent

malaria with quinine-

But it's expensive and the

farmhands can't afford it-

What kind of man is this owner,

who starves his farmhands

and allows them to get

sick with malaria?

In the catechism it says

that oppressing the poor

and not paying them

a suitable wage

are among the worst

sins a man can commit-

Sins that cry out for

revenge before the Lord-

We can only help the workers

by supporting them

in their faith-

I advise you to take a look at

Campomorto tomorrow morning-

It's there and at Conca

that we need most help

with the mass-

There are two small chapels

and they're usually

only open in summer-

Are they far from here?

About 6 kilometers away-

You can take my trap,

or the short-cut

through the marsh-

Have you lost your way, Father?

Come with me-

Thank you-

- Here we are, Father-

- Thank you-

Goodbye, Father-

Goodbye-

We labor all day long

and then he steals it all-

If we reach 400 quintals

in the harvest,

he'll give us a contract-

All he asks

is a third of the crop,

which is less than what

we were paying before-

But we have to buy the tools

and the seeds ourselves,

which means debts-

And we have to sell

everything to him

at the price his grace

the count decides on-

They work the same soil-

They share the same house

and fight each other

like two dogs-

And to think they're partners!

Shut your mouth

and get to work, partner-

Here's Maria-

It's time to eat-

She's always on time-

That's enough, thank you-

He won't make it to the summer-

I'd like to know

where you got that call from-

Time to eat!

Give me that-

How does that child do it?

She's never still-

Yeah!

Not like someone I know!

Darn it!

You've always got it in for me-

Don't forget your son-

Half a man, half a ration!

Will we make 400 quintals?

We will-

Of course, we will-

We'll make it!

We'll make it!

The Body of Christ-

Amen-

The Body of Christ-

Amen-

The Body of Christ-

Amen-

Are you still here?

Come on!

May I?

Are you the family that

lives with the Serenellis

at Cascina Antica?

Yes, it's a big farmhouse -

large enough for two families-

Giovanni Serenelli has

only got his son now-

I've seen the marsh-

it must be tiring working there-

Yes, and the master isn't

very easy to please either-

But you only have to

dry out the land

to be able to plow it-

Then you can grow fresh beans

for fodder and wheat-

Then you realize what a

gift God has given us-

My name's Luigi Goretti-

We're not from this area-

These are my children -

Angelo, Ersilia,

Sandrino and Mariana-

This is Assunta, my wife-

She's holding Teresa,

the latest arrival-

That leaves---

Here she is-

That's Maria-

Good morning-

Good morning, Father-

Is the count free?

Yes- I'll show you the way-

Father Basilio is here -

the new priest-

I was told you'd arrived

a few days ago-

How are you finding it at Conca?

I've not settled in yet,

but I see they are all

very decent people---

including that poor wretch

your men tried to kill-

They only wanted to

teach him a lesson-

We aren't killers-

They're rabble---

worse than animals-

They must be punished

for stealing-

That man was seriously

weakened by malaria-

I read in the paper

about malaria today-

The politicians say we

should pay for the quinine

out of our pockets-

But they don't say how

much it would cost-

Three lire a worker,

wife and relatives included-

If three lire is enough-

Three lire---

That would help to

save human lives-

They say we landowners

are parasites,

we eat all the profits and

don't invest in the property-

They consider us less

than the industrialists-

As though our taxes were

not of the same color-

That really makes me angry!

You're a priest---

isn't there anything

that makes you angry?

Man's exploitation of other men,

speculators who abuse people

for their own profit

and treat them as though

they were objects-

All we needed

was a socialist priest-

Those are the words of

His Holiness Leo XIII-

He wrote them in the

encyclical "Rerum Novarum-"

I am too busy to keep up

with the Pope's moods-

Here-

These are the candles for

the church at Campomorto-

Thank you so much-

And for the other day-

As for my husband---

No- Don't worry-

Your husband speaks plainly-

And people who speak plainly

make life a lot easier-

Thank you, Lord,

for the food you have given us-

- Go to bed now-

- All right, father-

I'm tired tonight -

very tired-

One to say good night---

one to make you sleep---

and one to make you dream-

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