The Nanny

The film is set in Rome at the start of the twentieth century. It opens in the house of a wealthy psychiatrist. The man runs an asylum for women. But he has no new idea about his work. His wife breaks down after the birth. Somebody is needed to nurse the baby. The man brings a woman in from the country. The woman is called Annette. Annette has to leave her own baby behind. As soon as she reaches Rome a bond forms between her and the child. That bond unsettles the lady of the house. The unease turns into anger over time. Outside, leftist demonstrations are going on. Annette’s lover is a teacher and he is in prison. She asks the doctor to teach her to read and write. Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Maya Sansa take the leads in Marco Bellocchio’s Italian film of 1999.