MARIA:
Before you were born,
Amsterdam was captivated
by a flower.
The tulip.
They came from far away,
in the East,
and were so rare and beautiful,
for people lost their senses
in wanting to own them.
Rich and poor were spending
and borrowing money
to join the trade in bulbs,
which were going up in price
ail the time.
None more so
than the rare striped tulips
that were called breakers.
(auctioneer
speaking indistinctly)
A new breaker came from nowhere,
like an act of God,
and it changed people's lives.
A white flower
with a God-given crimson stripe
turned our lives upside down,
mine and my mistress Sophia's.
- (bell tolling)
- (waves crashing)
(gulls calling)
Sophia!
(bell continues tolling)
(panting)
It's time to go!
The abbess is calling!
But that was all to come
when Sophia exchanged her life
at St. Ursula's for marriage
to Cornelis Sandvoort.
- Come on.
- ABBESS: Marriage
is a safe harbor.
And you will have a fine house,
a servant,
and you will have children.
Give him an heir,
and everything will be fine.
So, love, honor and obey.
It's for the best.
(bell tolling)
MARIA: In return
for Sophia's sacrifice,
her siblings received
safe passage to New Amsterdam
in the Americas
to stay with their only living
relative, an aunt.
DRIVER:
Whoa.
And so Sophia arrived
at the orphanage barefoot
but left in a carriage.
DRIVER:
Go on. Hyah!
(carriage rattling)
[]
Don't let...
don't let the chickens out!
Don't let the chickens out! No!
No, come on!
(indistinct chatter)
(urinating)
A man likes to leave something
of himself behind.
A son to inherit my name
and fortune.
My little soldier's dozy
tonight.
Time to report for duty, sir.
(grunts)
Give me your hand.
(sighs)
There.
Stand to attention, sir.
(indistinct chatter)
- Cornelis. Meet my son and heir.
- (baby crying)
- Congratulations.
- (chuckles)
So you and your wife
didn't waste much time.
I hear your wife's
been wasting yours.
(laughs)
Well, not for lack of trying.
That orphan girl,
send her back then.
You've tried enough.
(chuckles)
I'll give her six months.
It's best if I give her up
after that.
Which reminds me,
that woman in Utrecht,
she keeps asking about you.
Sh-She does? What does she say?
Ha. She wants to know
when you'll be back.
Just a touch of bright plumage
in the detail.
A woman who's been married
three years needs
to keep herself... interesting.
Or life will become dulled.
- Do you know who she is?
- Of course.
She's Danae
being made love to by Zeus.
That's Antonia Hocken,
the tinsmith's wife.
She could tell you a thing
or two about him with the brush.
- Really?
- SOPHIA: Is that true?
- (chuckles)
- And as for your dress,
it'll be ready in a week.
Thank you, Mrs. Overvalt.
- (bell clanging)
- (indistinct chatter)
Nutmegs. Straight off the boat.
They want 200 a keg.
Have a sniff.
(inhales)
Quality is good. But, look,
they've added shells
to make the barrels heavier.
Banda Islanders up
to their tricks.
Offer 85.
I want every one
of those barrels,
when they're on the quayside,
I want them opened
and inspected!
MARIA:
These were happy times for me,
and I would not have changed
places with Sophia.
She treated me like a sister,
while my master
rarely took notice of me.
Fish again, Maria?
We'll be sprouting fins.
But you always like herring done
in this way, sir,
in sweet vinegar.
CORNELIS:
But fish three times this week?
And several times last week,
now I recall.
Why? Are you in love
with the fishmonger?
(chuckles nervously)
(moans softly)
Will I come tomorrow?
(chuckles)
Yes.
Only if you love me.
I love you, Maria.
(moans softly)
Thank you.
- Bye.
- (whispering): Bye. Willem,
Go.
(chuckles)
(laughs)
(sighing)
I think my little soldier's
ready tonight.
Please, the candle.
(grunting)
- (clang)
- Shh!
- (thumping, clanging)
(grunts)
Shh.
Shh!
[]
I have to get something
from the apothecary.
Do you have the purse?
Ask him for something
to lift your spirits.
I should ask you.
What do you take
to make you so cheery?
He doesn't keep it, madam.
(indistinct chatter)
MARIA: It was a relief for her
just to get out of the house
and away from her husband.
- (indistinct shouting)
- (dogs barking)
(clanging)
(humming softly)
ls this the house of Dr. Sorgh?
Sorgh himself at your service.
Will you come in?
(chuckles)
Mm.
Do you know Mrs. Overvalt?
She's my dressmaker.
Uh, I know her, yes.
She said you were a doctor of...
of female mysteries.
You may speak
in complete confidence.
It's difficult for me.
Well, let me help you.
How late is it?
How late is what?
(chuckles)
No.
What did Mrs. Overvalt tell you?
She said you would help me
to conceive.
To give my husband a child.
Oh, yes. Mrs. Overvalt.
Yes.
Now I remember her. Mm.
My husband made two babies
with his first wife.
God took them, all three.
Years ago. Many years ago.
Cornelis is old,
but he's very... willing.
- Mm. Mm.
- Still, he saved me
from a life of poverty,
and I must repay him.
He wants a son.
And I have not been blessed.
Mrs. Overvalt said
you can help me.
Of course.
This way.
(humming softly)
- Thank you.
- There's the bed.
Um, on your back
or your front... up to you.
"(humming) '(gasps)
A thousand apologies!
How dare you!
'(door opens) "(grunts)
(indistinct shouting)
(thunder crashing)
see that ye love one another
with a pure heart fervently:
being born again,
not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible,
by the word of God,
which liveth
and abideth for ever.
For all flesh is grass,
and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass...
(indistinct chatter, shouting)
Nice pig heads!
Um, I'll take four chops
and a hen, for a guilder.
Four chops.
(chuckles)
Cheer up, Simon.
(chuckles)
- MAN: Thank you very much.
- (snarls)
CORNELIS:
The blessings of thy bounty,
in good times and bad,
now and for ever,
may thy servants
be truly thankful. Amen.
Amen.
(urinating)
- Amen.
- Amen.
(urinating)
- Amen.
- Amen.
(Cornelis urinating)
- Amen.
- Amen.
(children's playful chatter
in distance)
CORNELIS: I've decided to engage
the services of a painter.
A portrait painter.
And so I've hired Mattheus.
He's been hard at work
scouring the art world
- for a suitable candidate.
{woman moans)
(Mattheus moans)
(Mattheus laughs)
(Mattheus laughs)
(Playful growl)
- (Mattheus laughs)
- I'll see you tonight at tavern.
I need a couple of whores
tomorrow... bring a friend.
I'm doing a tavern scene.
Doing the innkeeper's daughter
for Paul Nassau.
Nassau can't paint tavern
scenes to save his life!
CORNELIS:
He's found an artist.
I'm assured he's sober,
- industrious and respectable.
- Jan!
- Jan!
- His name is Jan Van Loos.
He's one of the most promising
young artists in Amsterdam.
So his price
is still reasonable.
My skating scene.
Hmm.
The Raising of Lazarus.
I'm the blind beggar.
The Drunkard's Downward Path.
Thank you
for showing me your work.
They're good,
but they lack obsession.
You will make a handsome...
You think there's vanity in it?
(Cornelis burps)
Well, there is some.
And when everything else
about me has been forgotten,
they'll say, "Look there
at that lucky old dog.
Didn't he have
a lovely young wife?"
(chuckles):
Yeah.
A double portrait,
Cornelis Sandvoort
and his wife, Sophia.
(whispers):
Obsession.
- God, was I sozzled.
- Jan, listen,
I got you a commission.
Double portrait,
Cornelis Sandvoort
- and his wife.
- Who?
The king of peppercorns.
He's a pompous old windbag,
but it's 50 guilders.
(Mattheus chuckles softly)
- MAN: Oi, where's me money?
- It's coming soon.
MARIA: So, in the form
of a struggling young artist
minding his manners,
upheaval entered the house
of Cornelis Sandvoort.
(clanging)
I have an appointment.
A globe for far-flung trade,
scales for the weighing
of our sins
on Judgment Day, and... death,
to remind the spectator,
"Vanity,
vanity, all is vanity."
But where
would portrait painters be
without a little bit of vanity?
(footsteps approaching)
[]
CORNELIS:
Like this, I think.
And I here.
Hmm?
No.
Here.
Allow me.
Hold still.
[]
Mmm.
MARIA: I saw the future
in the mirror that day.
But I didn't know it.
(sighs)
CORNELIS: Yes, put your brush
to capturing my wife.
Hmm.
CORNELIS:
How's business?
JAN: It is you
who are in business, sir.
CORNELIS:
Granted.
Our Dutch republic is
the richest nation on Earth.
Supply and demand,
that's how it goes...
- Peppercorns or portraits,
- (whispers): Mouth.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves,
Chinese porcelain,
and all more reliable
than tulip bulbs.
But, of course,
my best investment was
- my Sophia here.
- Cornelis, how can you?
(loud, raucous chatter)
See you on the floor.
- First time?
- Hey?
Buying or selling?
Are we talking about
tulip bulbs?
- We are.
- Buying.
Right answer.
Follow me.
I'll waive the formalities.
(overlapping chatter)
Thank you, Reud.
- Good man. -DAAN: Silence
please, gentlemen!
Let me have your attention!
Can't hear myself think.
MARIA: Willem charged headlong
into something
he knew only by rumor:
the tulip market.
It happened in the back rooms
of taverns
where huge sums of money
were made and lost
- as people gambled on the color
of the blooms. -Done!
(cheering, indistinct shouting)
Where is this, sir?
DAAN: Calm down, gentlemen,
please. Quiet!
- (woman laughs) -MARIA: He was
risking everything for us.
DAAN: Prater, sir,
do you accept the bid?
- The bid is accepted.
- Done.
I thank you!
Prater's agent for St. Ursula's,
the sisters' tulip garden.
How much have you got to spend?
18 florins.
That might get you
a few single colors.
Prater's got a parcel
of whites coming up.
Don't be scared to speak up.
Are they a good investment,
whites?
The whole market's going up.
You won't go wrong.
- Parcel of whites offered to the room...
- This is the one.
By Mr. Prater here.
- (people shouting)
- WILLEM: Where are they?
In the ground a while yet.
It's the certificate of
ownership that changes hands.
- Seven at the back.
- Eight up here!
- MAN 1: Eight!
- MAN 2: Nine!
- DAAN: Nine!
- Ten here, sir!
Ten from the new face
at the front.
- Who's got 11? Show me 11.
- WOMEN: 13!
- 13 from the ladies. -13 from
the ladies on the stair.
- WILLEM: 14.
- Good.
- DAAN: 15 here.
- WOMAN: 16! -MAN 3: 16!
DAAN:
16,17,anyone?
- MAN 4: Seventeen.
- Go on.
- 18!
- DAAN: 18!
18 to the young man.
- Can I get 19?
- Do I hear any 19s? No?
Mr. Prater, sir,
bidding stands at 18 florins.
- The bid is accepted.
- Yours.
(laughing)
Well done.
Go and get the certificate.
- Mr. Prater, sir.
- (coins jingle)
18 precisely. Many thank yous.
- Very good.
- Thank you, sir.
Done.
ASMUS:
An excellent investment.
Congratulations.
- Thank you very much.
- What are you gonna bid on next?
- I bid thee farewell.
CORNELIS: Yes, yes. Our church
has withdrawn her patronage
from painters
and now it's our everyday lives
which are immortalized in the
rich colors of the altarpieces.
We stand staring out
of our lives.
They're paintings of silence.
Cornelis, let him think.
He's an artist.
Well, I hope so.
Eyes.
Hand.
Please don't break the pose.
Mm.
GERRIT:
A bit tight.
Where would you like me
to be placed'?
Stand here.
Chin up.
No, your chin.
Gerrit...
hold Still.
Flat.
Gerrit.
[]
What is it?
That painter;
I don't want him back.
He's not coming back
for two weeks.
My daylight hours
are spoken for.
I don't want him here.
I don't want us to have
our portrait painted.
But why not?
It's dangerous.
Dangerous?
To our standing in God's grace.
It's vanity.
"God's grace"?
Come where we can sit.
What is it really?
It's too expensive.
Not dangerous, but expensive?
I don't like him.
You're a whirligig of reasons.
He's impudent.
Well, he's an artist.
But, look,
I can pay him off,
we get another.
There's no lack of artists
in Amsterdam.
I'll get Thomas de Keyser.
Yes.
Get him.
Anyone.
Well, let it sit,
and if you're still in
the same mind next week, then...
(breathing heavily and moaning)
CORNELIS:
Faster, you wanton hussy!
Faster! Faster!
Fire the cannons!
Ah, my bones are shaken to bits!
(grunts)
God, forgive me.
That must be sinful.
(grunts)
- (chuckles) What...?
- (grunts)
I've changed my mind.
I don't want another painter.
Let that man come back.
(sighs)
(bell clanging)
- Oh, your ladyship.
- (chuckles)
Please, may I speak
with your cook?
Shh.
(whispers):
They're both at home.
Mm-hmm.
(whispers):
Apologies.
(Maria moaning softly)
Oh, your hands.
(sniffs)
Mm.
(Maria chuckles softly)
(water splashes)
(soft chuckle)
(Maria moaning)
(Maria breathes heavily)
(Willem breathes heavily)
Oh, Maria.
(both breathing heavily)
- Willem?
- Mm-hmm.
Willem, we've been robbed.
It's empty.
What is it?
This will see us get married.
Mm. With six children
'round our table...
like we said.
But you haven't
done anything foolish?
CORNELIS:
Gomez offered
to sell me the bulbs
for the price of a new coach,
a good horse, harness and all.
(chuckling):
It's a madness.
It goes against all reason.
Isn't it supply and demand
just the same, Cornelis?
(chuckling):
Yes, but...
If nutmegs grew like mussels,
you'd get a barrelful
for a florin.
I had no idea I had married
a philosopher of finance.
(door opening)
Governor, a word.
Forgive me.
(door creaks shut)
(sniffing)
(sighs)
(Sophia sighs)
Don't move.
(pencil scratching on paper)
That's the color of blue
the Italian masters used
for the mother of Jesus.
Do you know why they dressed
the Virgin in blue?
Because
it's the color of purity.
Because it's the color
which cost the most.
Oltremarino.
Blue from over the sea.
(Sophia sniffs)
From a blue stone mined
in one place only and far away.
(pencil scratching)
(distant chatter, music playing)
(gulls calling)
(waves crashing)
Finger.
(music playing in the distance)
- (waves crashing)
- (Jan gasps)
(gasps)
(sighs)
God help me.
I'm in love.
(clattering)
(running footsteps)
I'm going to Mrs. Overvalt,
my dressmaker.
- (door opens)
- I wasn't asking.
(door closes)
(crowd chatter, Jan panting)
(chicken clucking)
(loud crowd chatter)
(panting)
(loud, indistinct crowd chatter)
(crowd chatter)
(panting)
(bell clanging)
Yes?
Is Mr. Van Loos at home?
He's not home.
(panting)
It wasn't important.
I'll write to her.
(door creaks shut)
(loud, overlapping
crowd chatter)
Get his arm.
Get his arm on it.
(indistinct chatter,
water dripping)
Get him up!
Oh, I get him.
Pull!
(indistinct chatter)
MAN: Took his own life
over a tulip bulb.
(distant chatter, bird singing)
(sighs)
(footsteps approaching)
What have you got there?
I've had a letter
from Mr. Van Loos.
The painter has written to you?
Yes.
What has the fellow got
to write to you about?
Let me see.
CORNELIS:
The audacity.
(laughing): The painter writes
to ask for my tulips.
What do you say to that?
Your week's wages wouldn't pay
for them.
That could say something
about my wages.
SOPHIA:
He only asks to borrow them
before they lose their bloom.
You should let him, sir,
if you want their likeness.
Well, you can take them to him
in the morning.
Uh, first day of the month
tomorrow.
I have plans with my mother.
Breakfast will be under
a cheesecloth in the larder.
(footsteps retreating)
CORNELIS:
Well, my dear, would you mind
taking Mr. Van Loos my tulips?
Tell him I want them back
by close of day.
MAN: Come on, hurry up!
Hurry up!
(loud, indistinct chatter
and shouting)
(indistinct shouting
and chatter continues)
(knocking)
(woman laughing outside,
distant chatter)
(Sophia's breath quivers)
(Sophia gasps slightly)
(Sophia sighs)
(Sophia gasps, Jan gasps)
(both panting)
(Sophia gasps)
You may rest, Mr. Sandvoort.
(both panting)
(Sophia gasps)
(Sophia gasping)
May I?
My wife tells me
our portrait pleases.
(Sophia gasps)
(both panting, Sophia sighs)
(laughs)
You've caught her beauty, sir,
as well as her innocence
and purity.
(Jan sighs)
My wife cannot abide
a compliment to herself.
Is that so, Mrs. Sandvoort?
(Sophia gasps slightly)
(Sophia gasps)
(Sophia moans,
both breathing heavily)
(Sophia moaning)
(both breathing heavily)
If you will.
(both breathing heavily)
(Sophia moaning)
(both breathing heavily)
(Sophia moans)
(Jan moans)
(both breathing heavily,
moaning)
First to flower, first to fall.
(birds singing)
(birds singing, bell tolling)
(geese honking)
Sister, uh, the abbess, please.
- In the garden. -Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
(geese honking)
You're late, young man.
(sniffs) And Lord save us,
you smell of fish.
Mr. Prater says you know
your business, so look sharp.
- The gate's locked at sundown.
- I am Willem Brok.
- Do you mind staying downwind?
(groans) -(donkey braying)
Uh, I-I bought a parcel
of his whites.
He said I should come here
to get the certificate
countersigned.
- Oh, so you're not the rat catcher?
- No. No.
Would you kindly take me
to the abbess, please?
Well, unless you have a pen and
ink pot about you, follow me.
(pig snorting, cow lowing)
(child choir singing
in distance)
ls this an orphanage?
We take them in off the streets,
feed them, school them,
and send them out
to fend for themselves
as kitchen maids,
scullery maids...
(hisses sharply)
They find husbands, or worse,
or remain here as novices.
(squeaking)
Ugh, the nerve of it.
Oh...
(inhaling)
Mm, that's better.
No offense.
A Gouda, red and yellow.
The least rare of rarities,
but our prize tulip so far.
The purple and white
lords it above the Gouda,
but top of the scale
is the crimson and white.
(chuckles)
That's rarely seen.
St. Ursula's has been
growing tulips
for the flower market
for years and years.
Single-colored tulips
by the bushel.
I paid 18 florins
for these whites.
I'm told if they
continue to rise,
in a month
they'll be worth double.
Mm.
Let's see.
"Abbess" is a courtesy title.
I see. Forgive me.
50 whites, just come into bloom.
W. Brok.
18 florins.
Hmm.
A month ago, you could have
had them for ten.
(indistinct conversations)
Beautiful.
What's that?
That one?
A miracle.
It's a breaker.
WILLEM:
A breaker?
Mr. Prater.
You appear to have sold off
49 whites
and one crimson and white
for 18 florins.
God forgive me.
God might.
But I wish He, for once,
wouldn't work
in mysterious ways.
Cut the flower
and sell the bulb.
You have a rare one.
[]
(bell clangs in distance)
(bell clanging)
Eh, who are you?
This is Willem's patch.
Not anymore.
He sold it to me.
- He sold his license?
- And his basket.
What would you like today?
Fresh bream?
How about a length of eel?
I've got a nice thick eel.
(footsteps approaching)
You're not ready.
It's 7:00.
I don't want to go.
But you enjoy playing cards
at the Steens'.
- Last time you won.
- I feel sick.
You go.
Well, my night is ruined.
I suppose we'll need
to stay home.
No. I want you to go.
I'm better alone, please.
They're your old friends.
I feel better if I know
you've got good company.
I'll be home before the watch
sounds the trumpet.
(exhales)
(door closes)
(door closes in distance)
DAAN: The bidding stands
at 810 guilders.
Are we all done?
- And 20.
- 20.
- MAN: 30.
- 30.
- And 40.
- DAAN: 40.
- 50.
- DAAN: 50!
- 60.
- DAAN: 60.
- 70.
- DAAN: 70.
- So.
- 900!
- DAAN: 900.
- 910.
DAAN: 910.
Are we all done?
Anyone for 920?
DAAN:
920. Thank you, Mr. De Bye.
Mr. Brok, 920 guilders.
Do you accept the bid?
Yes, sir. I do, sir.
- Please.
- DAAN: Sold!
DE BYE:
Well done, Mr. Brok.
How much fish must you sell
to bring in 920 guilders, hmm?
How do you know I sell fish?
Did you already name
your flower, Mr. Brok?
- Yes, sir. Admiral Maria.
- Unusual.
PRATER:
You're a wealthy man, now.
God loves you, Mr. Brok.
Well, he must love my Maria,
also.
"My Maria" now.
Oh, no, no.
My future wife.
We're getting married soon.
Mr. Prater,
I told myself I'd stop
after 800 florins.
It's more than enough
for me, so...
for the orphans, please.
No, certainly not.
- Would you like a hand with
that, my darling? -No, tart.
PRATER: You paid a fair price
there, sir.
It'll drop if Admirals start
popping up like daisies.
If not, you will double it.
Next item on the stand,
a single Alexandra bulb.
(lively music playing)
Maria!
(indistinct chatter)
Maria!
Maria!
Maria!
(laughter, chatter, coughing)
(passionate gasping)
(chuckling)
- WOMAN: That baby needs a drop of gin.
- (baby crying)
My own mother used to say...
Do you know my prize mare
is in foal,
and De Lesseps, the banker,
has paid me a fee
to reserve the foal
for him to buy
for ten Admiral De Keys tulips
when it's born.
- Did you agree?
- Of course.
(laughs):
It's free money.
What do you think, Cornelis?
I think De Lesseps must believe
those tulips will be
worth nothing...
(cheers)
nothing by the time he'll
get a prize foal for them.
- I love you.
- I love you.
When I left here, I thought,
"Once is everything.
I can deny myself now."
But then I saw you again,
and I thought, "No, twice.
Please, God, please twice."
Let me look at you.
Don't move.
No, Jan.
It will comfort me
when you've gone.
You've stolen my heart.
And you've stolen mine.
JAN:
Tell me about your family.
SOPHIA (chuckles): No one's ever
asked me that before.
A sickness took my parents
when I was young.
My only family lives
across the sea.
Oh, darling, darling, oh...
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
(bell tolling)
What are you doing?
Cornelis will come home early.
I know him.
Don't go.
I must.
When will you come back?
Tomorrow?
Oh, I don't know.
You do love me, don't you?
Yes, I love you.
(lively music,
overlapping chatter)
Oi!
I remember you, darling, huh?
Oh, someone's been celebrating
all right, huh?
- No.
- Yeah?
No. My life is over.
Don't say that.
Listen.
Ooh, you're a very big boy.
You got a little something
for me in your trousers?
- Mm-mm.
- No? Just a little bit?
No! Piss off.
(coins jingling)
(sighs)
No!
Where's that filthy
little whore?!
Where's that little bitch
just stole my purse?!
I want it back.
Where is she?
Oi! That's my little sister
you're calling a whore!
(grunting)
(men grunting, shouting)
Lads! Here's one for you!
Let the Navy have him!
MAN:
Get him up.
Come on.
Welcome to the Navy, sailor.
It'll take you a year
to get back.
- WILLEM: No, no. No. No! No!
- Hey, that's enough.
(drunken shouts, revelry)
(hinges creak)
(panting)
(running footsteps)
(floorboards creaking)
CORNELIS:
My little soldier's ready again.
Sophia...
Gone?
How gone? Gone where?
Nobody knows.
There's rumors he's gone to sea.
I really thought he loved me.
My poor Maria.
That's not all of it.
What is it?
I'm going to have a baby.
- Did Willem know?
- No.
What am I gonna do?
- Your family...
- In Friesland.
I'd die of shame.
My father wouldn't have me
in the house, anyway.
Are you going to throw me out?
No.
What can I do?
When my husband hears of it,
he'll...
I'll keep your secret
as long as I can.
I didn't want to have
to do this, madam,
but if you throw me out,
I'll tell your husband
what you've been up to.
I'll tell him, miss.
(exhales)
How did you know?
How would I not?
I'll tell him.
If we sink, we sink together.
You wouldn't.
Please, Maria.
MARIA:
Yes, I said that.
And I was ashamed.
I felt the shame in my blood.
JAN:
It's done. Do you want to see?
(chuckles)
It's well done.
JAN:
What's the matter?
Maria knows about us.
And she's going
to tell Cornelis.
(door opens in distance)
(wind whistling)
(exhales)
(door closes in distance)
(fire crackling)
(soft scraping)
(wind whistling)
Cornelis.
Why are you awake?
God took one child
and spared my wife.
And when...
she was in childbed again,
crying out,
I couldn't put the thought away
from me.
What thought?
God heard me,
and he punishes me still.
Because I didn't always treat
her well.
It was not in your hands.
I asked...
that the baby should be spared
and...
not...
If it were one or the other,
that...
To spare the child
and take the mother.
And God punished me
by taking both.
(exhales)
God has forgiven you.
No. (scoffs)
I wasn't gonna tell you
so soon...
but I'm going to have our child.
(inhales)
You.
Oh.
Oh, my-my sweet,
my sweet Sophia.
(shuddering inhale)
Oh, praise be to God.
(crying softly)
(humming happily)
(Sophia chuckles)
(Cornelis continues humming)
(Maria gasps)
SOPHIA:
Maria, are you all right?
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Was it valuable?
- Priceless.
- (sobs)
Six months of your wages.
(crying)
- Cornelis, it's just a vase.
It's one of a pair.
So say no more about it.
(Cornelis resumes humming)
I made a plan to save us both.
- You hide your tummy, and I can...
- (scoffs)
I can stuff a pillow
down my dress.
And then what?
And then when the child is born?
And then we have the baby
in the house,
then you can be with it.
Cornelis gets a baby,
Maria keeps her job,
and we will be together.
- Are you mad?
- You must trust me.
How? How will we...
(panting)
What about a doctor?
I know a doctor.
(Sorgh humming)
Dr. Sorgh.
SOPHIA:
In the parlor.
And bring a basin of warm water.
Good morning.
(Sorgh humming)
Where did he come from?
Dr. Sorgh.
Good morning.
And how are we feeling today?
- Blood on the sheet.
- Only a drop.
It was nothing.
I'm sure you're right.
How is your heart beating,
Mrs. Sandvoort?
Allow me.
Mm? Mm. Mm. Mm.
Nice.
Neither fast nor slow.
All is well, but I'd better make
an examination
just to be sure.
Feet up.
(exhales)
Cornelis?
Will you see what's keeping
Maria with the doctor's basin?
(Sorgh humming)
Ow.
(exhales)
CORNELIS: Is everything
all right, my love?
All is well, sir.
CORNELIS:
Thank the Lord.
Are there any special...
instructions?
Plenty of rest during the day,
plenty of fresh air,
nutritious soups,
milky puddings.
Oh, yes, of course.
Most important of all.
It's imperative,
owing to Missus Sandvoort's
delicate bodily constitution,
no conjugal relations
until the baby's safely born.
- No...?
- I'm afraid so.
I recommend separate bedrooms.
If the mother
is unduly disturbed
during the night,
well, I fear for the child.
- (humming)
- If you say so.
As to the child,
the sex, the gender?
What signs do you...?
Sniff, please.
Do you feel nauseous?
No.
A boy.
- You believe so? A b...
- Mm-hmm.
(laughing)?
A boy.
A boy, but... Maria?
Will you stay, please?
Cornelis, I feel a little shy.
(laughing)?
A boy.
(Cornelis humming)
How are you today?
(exhales)
Hmm.
Are you all right?
- (sighs)
- Feet up.
Is this necessary?
Not really.
Force of habit.
How are you feeling?
I feel sick.
Well, you're pregnant.
You two really think
you'll carry this off?
(Sophia exhales)
SOPHIA:
What choice do we have?
What a game.
Do you think it's true to life,
Mrs. Overvalt?
Hmm. Yes.
Yes, he's caught the shoulder
seam, the line of the bosom.
Not so good on the cuffs,
but the hem stitches
are quite well done.
What do you ladies
think of the likeness?
He has found you, Sophia.
As for Cornelis...
(laughs) With an older man
like Cornelis,
a likeness might be
too much of a good thing.
Too much of "winter and spring"
about it.
(exhales)
You're beginning
to show, my dear.
(laughs softly)
CORNELIS: Urgent business
calls me to Utrecht.
I could be gone
for as long as a few weeks.
Sophia, let Maria do that.
We'll be fine, Cornelis.
(gags)
(coughing)
(retching)
(coughing continues)
(retches)
Oh, my poor dearest.
It's only natural
in the first months.
Please go, it's all right.
It is a small price to pay.
(gagging)
(panting)
NICHOLAS: That woman in Utrecht,
she keeps asking about you.
Ha. She wants to know
when you'll be back.
JAN: And when the baby's born,
what then?
SOPHIA:
I don't know.
Perhaps the world
will come to an end
before then.
If I were rich,
I could take you away.
SOPHIA:
He would find us.
He would not stop looking for me
unless I was dead.
(bell tolling)
I heard those bells every day.
That's where I grew up when
the plague left me an orphan.
- My poor Sophia.
- No.
It was my good fortune.
The sisters were kind,
and we lived amongst beauty.
They had a tulip garden
in the courtyard.
A tulip garden?
Is it still there?
(whispering):
What are we after?
Buried treasure.
What?
- Tulip bulbs.
- Huh?
Do you have the fork?
I told you to bring a fork.
- This is a fork.
- A garden fork.
We haven't got a garden,
we have a kitchen.
You should've said.
We should've brought a ladder.
GERRIT:
Go on, then.
(Gerrit straining)
(grunts)
(grunting)
Huh.
That's handy.
What is this place?
- A convent.
- We're stealing from nuns?
They don't belong to the nuns.
They belong to... the pope.
Oh, I don't mind stealing
from the pope.
No, no, no, no.
I don't mind stealing
from no pope.
(honking loudly)
- (shouts) Move!
- Gerrit.
- Geese!
- Gerrit!
Geese!
(grunts)
(birds chirping, bell tolls)
(grunts, moans)
(groans)
I'm sorry.
I'm glad to see you.
- Why?
- I thought you were dead.
Good morning.
Who are you?
My name is Jan Van Loos,
I'm an artist.
I'm in love with a woman
who loves me.
I have no money.
I can't think of anything else
to say about me,
except that I'm very sorry.
Evidently,
not a very good artist.
I think I am becoming good.
Why are you weighing them?
The more they weigh,
the more they're worth.
Also, the more babies. Look.
These little nodes,
each one will become a bulb.
Here is a node
from our best bulb.
It sold for 920 florins
at auction.
Unfortunately, we had already
sold it privately for 18,
hidden amongst ordinary
simple-color flowers.
But it's found its way home,
by the generosity
of the next purchaser,
who had sentimental memories
of me from many years ago.
Never underestimate God.
He forgets nothing.
I would like to get a foot
into the tulip business.
I think it's the answer
to my problems.
Will you help me?
(cow lowing)
ABBESS: First you can get
your feet among those.
They belonged to a fishmonger
who disappeared into the Navy.
Lift them, store them,
put them into the market.
Replace them, and then
invest wisely with the surplus.
Perhaps you'll make
your fortune.
(pigs snorting)
(indistinct conversations
and shouting)
We're selling!
Jan! (laughs)
I don't feel right?
Where?
My head.
You just need some rest.
(laughter, raucous chatter)
- Make your bid.
- MAN: Ten!
That's 49 whites
worth 49 guilders.
- You're mad.
- 22 or I walk.
- MAN: Done. -MARIA: I have
a terrible craving
for... sugared almonds.
SOPHIA:
Sugared almonds?
I'll get some tomorrow.
You're very kind to me, madam.
There's an Admiral Eyck
to be offered to the room.
20 florins each buys us
a 50th share
in a connoisseur's bulb,
maybe more.
Word is, by the time
it goes back on the market,
its value will have doubled;
that's how the market works!
If the market keeps going up,
why is anybody selling anything
if it's going to double
in a month?
Then we can get in
early on a bulb
that might triple in a month!
But it can't go on forever,
can it?
- DE BYE: Oh, it can! -Why not?
Why can't it? -Mr. De Bye!
I call it the theory
of the greater fool.
- (laughs) -There you are!
Are you in? Are you in?
- I'm in!
- Yes!
Grout needs to be white, madam.
What are you doing?
You're supposed to be resting.
Bored.
You don't just
wipe the ironwork.
You have to polish it
in the summer.
He notices if you don't
and he's coming back today.
You'll need a bigger cushion.
DAAN:
We'll start the auction at 240!
We're gonna be rich.
We're gonna be rich!
- 240!
"540!
- (yells indistinctly)
- 580!
- MAN: 600!
- Six!
- 720!
- Come on. Nine!
Here, here, here! Sir!
Seven!
Right over here!
DAAN:
750!
Do we have 800? Anyone?
I'll give you 12!
DAAN:
Give me 1,200!
The offer stands at 1,200.
MAN:
I'll take that bulb off you
for a half-share
in five Miracle cream
- and purples.
- Who are you?
- Your landlord's bailiff.
- No.
It's a disgrace,
sending these bailiffs around!
I'm worth hundreds!
If I went liquid now, I'd be
a bigger fool than I look.
Even bigger?
Shut up, Gerrit.
GERRIT:
Hey!
Hey, you forgot the nicest one!
Do you see what's happening?
The connoisseurs' bulbs
are rising
more than the common bulbs.
All we have to do
is put all our eggs
in one basket.
Yes.
A single bulb.
The rarer the better.
(knocks on door)
Boat tickets, Mr. Van Loos.
As ordered.
600 florins.
- Cash.
- Certainly.
After tomorrow's auction.
(frantic clamoring)
- MAN: 220!
- MAN 2: 230!
- MAN 3: 250!
- MAN 4: 240!
300!
- Weren't you an artist?
- I still am, this is just...
Oh-ho, I see.
I'm still a weaver!
MAN 5:
500!
"550!
"600!
Mr. Prater tells me
you've been busy.
He doesn't mean painting.
You're losing your bloom
and, unlike tulips,
yours will not be renewed
in the spring.
I have a proposition.
I'm worth a thousand florins
in bulbs and certificates
at today's prices.
I'd like to invest everything
in your fishmonger's Admiral.
Your proposition is absurd.
(scoffs)
The Admiral Maria
is not a snapdragon.
It's a 2,000 florin tulip bulb.
Which I'm willing
to let go for 1,500,
out of charitable feeling.
1,200.
Fourteen.
And I have to go and choose
the hymns for matins.
Done.
- (door opens)
- I'll need a week or two.
(door closes)
[]
(sighs)
(whispers):
Willem. Go.
(laughs)
(groans)
- (loud groaning)
- Maria?
What's happening?
- Shh!
- Oh, it's starting.
- It's starting to hurt.
- Are you sure?
(whimpering)
Cornelis!
Cornelis?
(groans)
- I think it's starting!
- Maria!
Maria, go fetch the midwife!
- No, no. No.
- Go fetch the midwife!
I need her here with me.
Go! Go!
(groans)
(Maria whimpers)
(door closes, groans)
Come here.
Huff)'-
- Come on.
- (grunts)
- Take it slowly.
- Oh, it's coming.
One step at a time.
(festive music plays
in the distance)
(thunder rumbling)
- (Maria groaning) -SOPHIA:
Breathe. Breathe for me.
- (groaning continues)
- MIDWIFE: Ooh, child.
(thunder crashes)
(Maria cries out)
(humming)
(pounds on door)
Dr. Sorgh, thank God!
How is she?
Your midwife won't let me in.
Poor Sophia has been
in labor for four hours.
(groaning continues)
(knocking on door)
Who is it?
Dr. Sorgh.
MIDWIFE:
Shh.
(Sophia groans with Maria)
Hmm. Hmm.
(quietly):
Wait.
- Shh.
- (latch opens)
(Sophia yells)
(mimics yelling)
(Maria and Sophia panting)
(Maria whimpers)
(moaning)
Sophia.
You're doing so well.
MIDWIFE:
And breathe, and...
(bellows)
Shh. Shh. Shh. Shh.
(Sophia shushes softly)
(Sophia resumes groaning)
MIDWIFE:
And again.
(Maria groaning in the distance)
MIDWIFE:
Yes!
- Mr. Sandvoort?
- CORNELIS: Yes!
Mr. Sandvoort.
How is she?
It's fine.
The birth will be fine.
But I must just ask you some
questions about Mrs. Sandvoort.
Has she suffered with great heat
these past weeks?
Heat?
Did she seem hot to the touch?
In truth, my wife hasn't
wanted me to touch her
for many months.
Ah.
Well, the skin
may have been painful.
Why?
I'm sure it's nothing.
MIDWIFE:
Come here.
- (thunder crashing)
- (breathing heavily)
(Maria panting)
(Maria moaning)
(thunder rumbles)
(knocking)
What's wrong?
(knocking)
Hello?
- (knocking)
- GERRIT: No answer?
- Shall I get that?
- Hello?
(humming)
My master sends me to ask Maria
a question.
Ask me.
- Is it started yet?
- Yes.
- What is it?
- What is what?
What it is that has started.
- Did he ask you to ask that?
- No.
What?
Dr. Sorgh?
- Not now. (humming)
- Please, I need to speak to you.
- No. No.
- Dr. Sorgh!
- Dr. Sorgh!
- No.
Dr. Sorgh.
- Sorgh.
- Dr. Sorgh!
(whispers):
Not now, please.
I insist on speaking to you.
I If it should come to a choice,
let the baby go, I beg of you.
In God's name, spare my wife.
Isn't that up to God?
(Maria moaning)
(yelling)
Keep bearing down.
Oh, that's it.
Oh, well done.
(Maria grunting)
(grunting quiets)
(baby crying)
(exhales)
Oh...
ls that my baby?
Thank you.
Come on, child.
- At that price...
- But they were fetching
- over a thousand last week.
- Last week?
Precisely.
The market has changed.
I'm not interested,
I'm not buying.
I don't care.
DAAN: Please, are you really
not going to bid for this?
- (thunder crashing)
- (overlapping shouting)
Please, it's not that high.
- 300, come on.
- 300? No. I'm sorry, Mr. Daan.
- (thunder rumbles)
- One week ago...
Sorry, Mr. Daan, no.
Is she all right?
A healthy baby, sir,
congratulations, a daughter.
But Sophia?
Your attention!
I have the most celebrated
new bloom
for many a season!
The Admiral Maria.
Safely wrapped in straw
and stored for the man
that buys it today.
- Why are you selling it now?
- Yeah, what is it you know?
- What have you heard?
- I'm leaving Amsterdam.
I sail for the East Indies
on tomorrow's tide.
Well.
There it is.
A unique opportunity
to this room.
Admiral Maria.
Who will bid?
(thunder crashes)
(thunder rumbles)
(baby fusses quietly)
SORGH:
It was the contagion.
The foul waters of our city.
You must not touch her.
(whispering):
She's with God.
(thunder rumbles)
What sort of God is that?
Why did he have to take her?
I told you. Damn you!
Damn you, I told you.
I begged you to spare her!
(baby crying)
- SORGH: It was plague!
- Sir.
By the law of the city,
the room must be fumigated,
- the bedding burned, the body taken...
- Let me kiss her.
- Let me... let me kiss her!
- The room must be fumigated,
- the bedding burned,
- Let me kiss her!
And the body taken directly
to a place of burial
without funeral.
CORNELIS:
I need to kiss her!
(thunder rumbling)
(hushed murmuring)
Four hundred.
Thank you, madam. 400.
Any advance from 400?
Five hundred.
DAAN:
Five. Five at the front.
Five hundred.
- 600 here.
- Six here.
- 700 here.
- Seven.
MAN:
Here, sir.
900! 900!
(overlapping shouting)
(thunder rumbling)
(breathes sharply)
(hammering continues)
(footsteps)
(bell tolling)
(door creaks open)
(door closes)
(bell continues tolling)
(breathing rapidly)
(short, rapid breaths)
- Maria.
- (baby fussing)
Yes, you, too.
We must call a wet nurse.
The wet nurse already came.
She sucked well.
It's God's will
that your wife was taken.
But it's also His will that
He has given you a daughter.
A beautiful, healthy daughter.
For that we must be thankful.
I will care for her
as if she were my own child.
There, there.
We will call you Sophia.
She has my nose,
don't you think?
I'm afraid there's a small extra
charge for the pallbearers.
I had to buy their silence,
you understand.
Of course.
Do you see this?
Do you know how much
Mr. De Bye is paying for this?
8,000 guilders.
Enough for two houses
on the Herengracht.
Come back later, you'll have
everything I owe you, I promise.
Hmm, no disrespect, sir,
but I'll wait here.
Do you have any libation?
I've come to collect money
for your tickets.
- Tickets?
- Two passages to the Indies
on the Empress of the East.
And I'm not leaving until
I've got money in my hands.
- That's me orders, sir.
- You leaving the country?
And he's not coming back!
- Do you have the cash?
- I do. Do you have the bulb?
I'm not accepting
the certificate only.
Well, I shall fetch it
this instant.
No, you don't.
The last time,
you left me waiting
a whole month.
What, you think I'm going
to slip my leash?
- ALL: Yes.
- Can one of you explain to me
how I'm to bring the
Admiral Maria to Mr. De Bye
and pay you all off if I am kept
prisoner in my own house?
Send your friend.
Are you sober?
I can't remember
what a drink tastes like.
Right. Take this.
Bring it to St. Ursula's.
They'll have a package for you.
And, Gerrit, listen to me.
Stay off the drink.
Go.
(horses neighing)
(indistinct chatter)
MAN:
Gerrit, you old tosspot!
Come and have a jar!
(laughs)
Mm-mm.
Oi, Gerrit, where you going?
(woman shouts indistinctly)
- Sophia.
- (Sophia gasps)
- You're in our house.
- You're free.
Easy.
I've done a terrible thing.
SOPHIA (whispering):
What have I done?
Thank you, master.
What is it?
A gift from our garden.
- An onion.
- Oh.
Very nice.
Nice to see it by daylight.
Remember your Bible.
There were two thieves.
Thank you. Sorry.
So sorry.
Only one was saved.
(Sorgh humming)
(whispering):
ls he coming?
Gerrit. Oh, thank God!
I've come for my money.
(chuckles)
Have a seat.
(others groan)
I have to go back.
I- I have to go.
No, you have to stay here.
(raucous chatter)
MAN:
Move! Move!
(donkey braying)
GERRIT:
Don't hurt the animal!
That's not nice!
(crowd cheering)
You can't go.
- Sophia, if you go...
- Please.
You'll bring us all
down with you.
Gerrit... Gerrit the hero!
CROWD (chanting): Gerrit
the hero! Gerrit the hero!
Gerrit the hero!
Gerrit the hero!
Gerrit the hero!
Gerrit the hero...
- Tell Jan I'm sorry.
- (bell tolling)
Tell him the fever broke.
(bell tolling)
(shouting, laughter)
[]
CROWD (chanting):
Drink! Drink! Drink!
Drink! Drink! Drink!
(cheering)
[]
[]
[]
MARIA: So Sophia realized
there was no going back,
and no way forward.
She saw too late it was a trap
she had laid for herself,
and she had been better dead.
(man shouts indistinctly)
You can do it.
(shouting, laughter)
MAN:
Come on, lads!
(overlapping chatter)
(bell clangs)
- Coming.
- (baby fussing)
(clangs)
(sighs)
Willem.
Maria.
Where have you been?
Africa.
Africa. Africa!
- You've been to Africa?!
- Listen, I've only come here
to hear the truth, Maria.
MARIA:
You've been to Africa?!
- WILLEM: Tell me the truth.
- What the, tell you the truth?
What are you talking about?
I saw you
and that bastard painter!
- What? What-what?
- Betraying me, Maria!
- I didn't think you had that in you!
- Me and the painter?
- I saw you, yes.
- That was my mistress
and the painter.
- Willem.
- (baby crying)
Willem.
That was Missus Sandvoort
and the painter.
MARIA:
Shh.
(baby crying)
- (baby continues crying)
- Shh.
Shh.
She's yours.
(sighs)
She's ours.
(baby fussing)
GERRIT:
I've been fighting gypsies
I've been saving donkeys
I've been fighting Bacchus.
Where in God's name
have you been?
I've been fighting gypsies.
I've been fighting Bacchus.
I fought 'em.
And I won.
(exhales sharply)
- (exhales Sharply)
- (grunts)
Where's the package?
Gerrit.
The package.
From St. Ursula's.
The onion?
I ate it.
(others sighing, groaning)
- I don't believe it.
- I ate it.
- Stupid oaf.
- What?
- Yeah.
- BAKER: You've done what?
- I don't believe it.
- BUTCHER: You bloody fool.
- GERRIT: What?
- He's ruined us all.
- Bloody fool.
- Everything I had.
CLERK: My boss ain't gonna
be happy about this.
- BUTCHER: We're all done for.
- BAKER: You're finished.
- GERRIT: What?
- BAKER: We'll be back.
JAN:
What have you done?
Oh, dear.
Let her stay gone, sir.
Let her stay dead.
Oh, sir...
She was driven by madness.
We all were.
(sighs)
(baby fussing quietly)
(wind whistling)
(quietly):
It's all right.
It's all right.
CORNELIS:
"Mistress Maria,
"so I would address you
on your marriage,
"which in faith,
must follow hard upon.
"And may God bless it
and bless your child.
"The house
of the trader Sandvoort
"has fallen into desolation
"yet I will not
have it shuttered.
"And although I know
"that you were complicit
"in this deceitful act, Maria,
"I absolve you,
as I, too, have sinned.
"For I bought Sophia like fine
silver or a precious painting,
"and in my desire for a child,
I treated her badly.
"Good fortune be with you,
Mistress Maria.
"Fill the house with new life,
for it is yours.
"But in return,
you must protect my name
"and preserve my legacy,
"as in the eyes of the world,
this child is my heir.
"It is only you and Willem
who can know the truth.
"Tell no one.
"This is our secret to keep.
"I wish you all happiness.
"I am to the Indies.
Farewell."
(bell clanging)
(Crying, panting)
Where has she gone?
She saw what she'd done.
Jan...
the bubble burst.
I must find her.
Sophia!
Sophia!
(angry, overlapping shouting)
It's done, I'm sorry.
(overlapping shouting)
NICHOLAS:
I'm ruined!
MATTHEUS:
Jan!
JAN:
Oh, God.
MATTHEUS:
Jan. Jan! Stop! Stop!
JAN:
Sophia!
Sophia!
Sophia.
She's gone.
Sophia.
(thunder crashes)
MARIA:
Soon after, the government
stepped in
and banned tulip trading.
Overnight, the market crashed.
Thousands were left destitute.
All this stemmed
from a love of beauty,
a passion for flowers
whose lives are even briefer
than our own.
But while the blooms had faded,
the paintings remained.
[]
You have brought her to life.
Only to torment me the more
by knowing she's dead.
- You know that, Mr. Van Loos?
- Yes.
She drowned herself.
We cannot say we know
more than we can know.
Leave the rest to God.
He doesn't like mopers.
Your patron brought me here,
because he wishes
to commission a work from you.
(bell tolling)
ABBESS: Think of this
as a place of solace.
You will not be disturbed.
(grunts)
[]
MARIA:
Stories don't end.
They only go
their separate ways.
We take leave of them.
Not knowing what comes after.
Cornelis has a new life...
(Cornelis humming)
and a family to love.
As do l.
(laughter)
GIRL:
Oopsy daisy!
(chattering)
Oh, look at this clever
(kissing) little girl!
MARIA:
Sophia! Sophia!
Your story is only beginning,
my little Sophia.
And now you know the truth.
You're named for my dear friend,
who, despite all
the wrong she did,
helped bring you
into this world.
- Mommy, he's jumping around.
- Again? No.
Help your sister through.
- WILLEM: Jacob, make room for your sister.
- MARIA: Daniel.
Come to the table.
(crying)
WILLEM: For what we are about
to receive, O Lord,
for thy blessings and thy bounty
from the harvest
of the land and the oceans.
And for this house
of Mr. Sandvoort,
bless him and his new family
in the Indies.
For everything that we have,
in good times and bad,
now and forever.
May your servants
be truly thankful.
MARIA:
It was Mr. Sandvoort's desire
that Willem and I
should live in his house,
and bring you up as
the daughter Sophia gave him.
But now you know why we have
always loved you as our own.
Our firstborn,
Willem's and mine,
because that is what you were,
and always have been.
My own Sophia.
Amen.
- Amen.
- Amen.
Yay!
(laughter)
(excited chattering)
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(music ends)