Original subtitles

♪♪

(sizzling)

(parakeet rustling)

(seagulls cawing)

(men calling indistinctly)

Hello.

(door closes)

(footsteps echoing)

Johannes Brandt?

Are we to have a menagerie? (gasps)

Oh... his name is Peebo.

He's a parakeet. (burbles)

I'm Nella.

Short for Petronella. (parakeets burbles)

Are you the housekeeper?

(distant coughing)

Where is Johannes?

My brother is not at home.

Your brother?

So you are...

Marin Brandt.

(footsteps echoing)

Otto!

For your feet.

(Peebo burbles)

MARIN: Otto is my brother's manservant.

This is Cornelia.

She is the maid.

They will look after you.

This is Petronella.

She is the Seigneur's new wife.

I expect you'll want to see your bedroom.

To the kitchen.

Oh, he lives with, um...

(footsteps echoing)

Come on.

♪♪

(curtains opening)

This used to be my room.

But it had the better view, so we gave it to you.

But... no, please, you must keep it.

No, you misunderstand.

The view is of you.

Amsterdammers must see

that Johannes Brandt has a new wife.

(seagulls cawing)

The Oortman's grand ancestral seat,

is it warm and dry?

It's not that grand.

And it's damp.

We couldn't afford to maintain the dikes.

Pedigree counts for nothing.

Nothing.

The dikes must be maintained, or the waters will rise.

We sent the second-best barge.

I hope you weren't offended.

Johannes was using the other one.

No, of course not.

Did he know I was coming?

You must be hungry.

I'll have Cornelia bring you something to eat.

Oh...

do you have any marzipan?

We do not keep sugar in the house.

The luxury of it sickens the soul.

Cornelia will bring you a herring.

(door creaks, closes)

(fork scraping)

(fork clatters)

♪♪

(men calling distantly)

MADAME OORTMAN: Be still girl!

He'll be here any moment!

(gasps)

Now you listen to me, my girl.

You need to marry him.

You need to make him want to marry you,

otherwise we are ruined.

For myself, I don't care.

But for your brother and sister...

CAREL and ARABELLA: He's coming, he's coming!

MADAME OORTMAN: And this is Nella...

Petronella, I mean.

JOHANNES BRANDT: Your daughter is very beautiful, Madame Oortman.

How bad are the debts, exactly?

The debts?

I know I was not the only one you wrote to.

You would not have done so had you not been desperate.

Did I mention she plays the lute?

(strumming lute)

Praise God, we are saved.

He has asked for your hand.

Do you think you could love him?

Does it make a difference?

No, but I want you to be happy.

I think... perhaps I could.

I hear they eat chocolate wrapped in gold in Amsterdam.

(giggles) Come, come.

(door slams distantly) (gasps)

(dog barking)

(footsteps echoing)

(inhales)

She's here.

It would have looked better

if you'd been here when she arrived.

(bags rustling)

MARIN: Perhaps you should go and see her.

JOHANNES: No, let her sleep.

MARIN: You have to understand...

JOHANNES: I understand.

I have to work. Rezecki, come.

(door closes)

(inhales)

(shuddering breath)

(rustling)

(footsteps echoing)

(footsteps echoing on stairs)

(door shuts)

(curtains rustling)

(men calling distantly)

The Seigneur's arrived from London.

You're to breakfast together.

Come on, I'll dress you.

(laces tightening)

My mother sent my measurements over in a letter.

Did the seamstress not get them?

Madame Marin sent them.

My mother knows my size.

I'm sure it was a mistake.

I'll do my best.

(tightening laces)

JOHANNES: That's right, although, Hamburg's a good choice.

OTTO: Yes. MARIN: And Marseilles.

Good morning!

Good morning.

Thank you... for my dress.

There are more.

But... it's a little large.

Marin, don't you think?

Never mind, we'll have it altered.

Come and eat something.

(Johannes groans)

We are eating frugally today to demonstrate humility.

Privation as a thrill, you mean.

Otto, get me some beer.

And Nella and Marin too.

(clanking) It gives me indigestion.

Go on, be defiant!

Bravery is the rarest commodity

in the city these days.

(chuckles)

(tankard clatters)

MARIN: How was the voyage?

Not much to tell.

The Lombardy silk, who won the import rights?

I forget. Who?

Henry Field of London.

English-- always the English.

Think of the commission, Johannes.

I know what I'm doing, Marin.

This house is evidence enough, no?

Have you spoken to Frans Meermans yet

about his wife's sugar?

So that's what this is about.

It's been sitting in the warehouse

for a month.

You still haven't told them what you plan to do with it.

My sister thinks

that sugar rots the soul, Nella,

but of all the things I might sell,

she pushes this.

What do you make of that? Sell the sugar!

(sharply): Don't tell me what to do!

MARIN: Where are you going?

JOHANNES: To check on your damned sugar!

MARIN: I don't believe you.

(footsteps echoing)

(burbles)

Hello!

(burbling)

Did Johannes collect these on his travels?

OTTO: The world in a set of plates.

Isn't he rich enough to have someone travel for him?

The Seigneur's spirit belongs on the seas.

He says the ocean is something the land can never be.

No patch ever stays the same.

(chuckles)

What are you doing?

Only talking.

He's working, can't you see?

Leave that.

There are scrolls you need to deliver.

Marin, I think Peebo misses me.

He needs fresh air and light.

His place is down here.

But Johannes's dog... Johannes is the seigneur.

He may do as he pleases.

Is he away a great deal?

(burbling)

Nobody forced you to marry him.

JOHANNES: I hope you're not disappointed.

I have no need of a wedding feast.

I'm glad it's you.

Johannes...

I know we barely know each other.

But I promise I will try to make you a good wife.

And I give you my word, when you come to Amsterdam,

I will do everything I'm able to be a good husband.

I have urgent business in the city.

I thought you'd want to spend our first night...

here.

I wish it were possible.

You'll come to Amsterdam, and...

Then.

♪♪

(downstairs door bangs)

(dog barking)

(door closes) Johannes...

I just wondered,

will I...

see you...

later?

Tonight...

Tonight, I cannot.

Soon, then?

Nella...

When I told you I'd do everything in my power

to be a good husband to you, I meant it.

Good night...

sweet girl.

(door closes)

NELLA: "Dear Mama,

"I have now been in Amsterdam for over a week.

"The city is a glory,

"like nothing I have ever experienced.

"My new home is beautiful,

and I want for no material thing."

"He is like a man which built a house

and laid the foundations upon a rock."

NELLA: "Johannes's sister Marin is...

very godly, and takes great interest in our diet."

"...built his house upon the earth."

NELLA: "As for Johannes,

"he treats me with great kindness,

"but his work takes him away a great deal.

"I look forward to spending more time with him.

(chair scraping)

"I hope the dikes are holding.

"Please send my love to little..."

(dog barking) (door slams)

Be quiet!

My God.

Johannes, what have you done?

What?

You told me to find a... A what?

A wedding gift.

For you.

A man at the docks had some cabinets left over.

I had it improved

with tortoise shells and pewter inlays.

What is it?

A house.

Your house.

This house.

How much?

JOHANNES: The frame was 2,000.

Curtains and furnishings brought it to 3,000.

MARIN: 3,000 guilders?

A family could live on that for years.

If you had money to spare,

you should have given it to the Church.

Enough of your piety.

(dog barks)

Well, she doesn't like it.

Neither do I.

That's a bitch's taste for you.

What about you?

I hoped you might like it.

What am I to do with it,

exactly?

You'll think of something.

MARIN: What are you doing?

Nothing.

Your door was open, I thought you'd prefer it closed.

Smit's List.

It's a register of all the craftspeople

and businesses in the city.

What for?

To decorate your house.

My brother will pay for everything.

I thought you said it was an extravagance.

The Devil finds work for idle hands.

♪♪

NELLA (reading): "Miniaturist.

"Trained with the great Bruges clockmaker Lucas Windelbreke.

At the sign of the sun."

"Dear Sir,

"I have a house of nine rooms, on a miniature scale

"that is to be displayed in a cabinet.

"I venture three requests to you and await your response.

"Item: one lute with strings.

"Item: one cage, suitable for a parakeet.

Item: one box of marzipan."

How do I get to the Kalverstraat?

What do you want there?

Nothing.

To leave a message for someone.

Who?

A craftsman, that's all.

I'll come with you, Madame. There's no need.

I have a good sense of direction.

(cracking)

NELLA: Why didn't Otto come?

It's not easy for him.

What do you mean?

He was on a Portuguese slave ship.

Sixteen years old.

His parents were dead.

The Seigneur saw him and bought him.

You're saying he's a slave.

No.

But he owes the Seigneur his life.

When he arrived, he didn't speak for a month.

That coffee bean skin, I've seen you looking.

I do not. Of course you do.

Everyone does.

(men calling distantly)

Oh, marzipan!

Do you think we could...? Come on, Madame.

HANNA: Cornflower!

Where've you been?

Well, what you waiting for? Come in!

Please, Madame, have a look round.

CORNELIA: The Meermans insisted the Seigneur distribute it.

They know he can get a better price abroad.

And Madame's all for it, even though she hates sugar.

HANNA: Her and all the rest of the killjoys.

I heard a rumor,

they want to ban gingerbread men

as papist... can you believe that?

Madame, try anything you like.

Why not sell it here?

There's barely enough to go round.

CORNELIA: I think there's more going on.

HANNA: More?

What do you mean...?

Hanna!

What are you doing, woman?

I must go.

I'll see you soon, Cornflower.

There it is.

The sign of the sun.

I've never noticed that before.

Hello?

Hello?

Madame!

I don't think there's anyone here, Madame.

(women calling distantly)

What happened to the cabinet?

(footsteps)

It couldn't stay in the hallway.

It was taking up all the light.

(door closes)

(barking)

(knocking)

(panting, barking)

Otto, Cornelia, the door. (knocking)

(barking)

Hello.

JOHANNES: What the hell are you doing here?

A package.

For Nella Oortman.

So this is your new wife?

Jack Philips, Madame.

Next time, use the lower entrance.

OTTO: Who was it, Seigneur?

No one, Otto, no one.

A delivery, that's all.

What is it in the parcel?

Just some things for the cabinet you bought me.

♪♪

NELLA: "Every woman is the architect of her own fortune.

"Item: one lute with strings.

(strums)

"Item: One cage, suitable for a parakeet.

Item: one box of marzipan."

(sniffs)

(distantly barking)

(shuddering breath)

(pen scratching)

NELLA: "Sir, I thank you for the items I requested.

"Your craftsmanship is exceptional.

"However, I made no request for a cradle,

"nor do I understand why you would wish to send one.

"I must therefore curtail our transactions forthwith.

Yours in good faith, Petronella Brandt."

For the craftsman again?

Don't open it.

No, Madame.

(seagulls cawing) (downstairs door closes)

(door opens) There you are.

But where on earth is Cornelia?

You need to start getting ready.

Ready? For what?

Johannes is taking you to a feast

at the Guild of Silversmiths.

Why are the curtains closed?

The sunlight was too bright, that's all.

(blows)

We keep them open during the daylight.

Otherwise people will think we have something to hide.

The feast.

Was it his idea?

We agreed it was appropriate you should attend.

You're absolutely sure... there was no one there again?

I slipped it under the door.

Hanna sends her greetings.

♪♪

JOHANNES: You look wonderful.

See, Marin,

all that money I spent on dresses was worth it after all.

Why aren't you coming?

I think it is better you're seen

with your wife, don't you?

You must remember

to invite the Meermans to dinner.

All right-- Nella, let's go.

(water lapping)

Thank you...

for bringing me.

You don't have to thank me.

Then whom should I thank?

I mean, you're my wife.

You shouldn't have to thank me for taking you somewhere.

Will the Meermans be there?

Marin seems very keen

for you to sell Frans Meermans's sugar.

It's not his.

It's his wife's.

She sees it as a passport

to what she's always wanted,

the power and position Frans couldn't give her,

but Marin doesn't understand the complications.

Which are?

Exactly what he and Agnes will do with the power

once they have it.

Turn around.

Close your eyes.

(festive music playing)

JOHANNES: Smile and don't say anything.

(indistinct chatter, distant laughter)

The guilds have monopoly on trade and set the prices.

Take no notice.

The silversmiths' is one of the richest.

For a merchant like me, who works outside the guilds,

attendance is not simply a mark of respect,

but a duty.

JOHANNES: Here.

(clinks)

(laughter, chatter)

Did you ever think food

is where we truly find ourselves?

See this?

Cumin seeds studding in new cheese

remind me I am capable of delight.

Delft butter, so fine

and creamy...

Figs...

...and sour cream,

take me back to my childhood...

(sniffs, sighs)

...only the taste of which I now remember.

You?

My mother used to make marzipan into rolls.

And the smell coming from the kitchen...

it made my heart race.

Better than herrings.

What do you eat out at sea?

Other men.

(shouts)

(gasps) (chuckles)

(both chuckling)

Ah...

MAN: Johannes! Over here!

Business.

Won't be long.

(indistinct chatter)

I see Brandt keeps the same standard of wife

as he does everything else.

Agnes Meermans.

Petronella, isn't it?

Now tell me,

however did Marin find you?

Marin?

What do you mean?

A bride for Johannes.

She's been searching for so long.

They're so close, of course, brother and sister.

Sometimes we wondered if... Agnes, please...

Frans, this is Petronella Brandt.

Oh, I thought she was a silversmith.

Where's Johannes?

I thought we were going to talk to him.

Here he comes.

Madame Meermans. Seigneur.

I see you are working your usual magic this evening.

No magic, Madame, just me.

(tentatively): About the sugar, Johannes.

I have it in hand.

We never doubted.

Only, er...

when will it sell, do you think?

To get the best price takes time.

What with the black markets in the East

and the adulterers at home,

people are craving good product.

But I will not take your sugar to the bourse.

The trading floor is a circus, the market rigged.

You intend to sell it abroad?

I sail to Venice shortly.

Papists?

Of course, if you prefer,

we could dump it all here in Amsterdam, flood the market,

and realize only a quarter of its true value.

The choice is entirely yours.

You're the expert.

Yes, I am.

Come, Agnes.

There's Slabbaert,

we should say hello.

God be with you.

And you.

NELLA: Who are they?

JOHANNES: Schout and Schepenbank.

Judge and jury here in Amsterdam.

Why do they look at you like that?

Because they don't control me.

Do they want to?

Control you?

No.

They want to destroy me.

(talking indistinctly)

People admire you.

She wouldn't have talked to me if I wasn't rich.

Are we?

Rich?

You cannot hold wealth, Nella.

It's like the sea.

Try to hold onto it too tightly,

it'll slip through your fingers like water.

Marin loves to worry.

You must be tired-- go to bed.

I'm...

not tired...

Johannes.

Still...

I have to make notes on the men I met tonight.

(door closes)

What do you want?

What do you think I want, Johannes?

I want to be your wife.

You are my wife.

No.

As far as I can tell, I'm just...

someone you own.

Someone who's useful to you

for purposes I can only guess at.

Like a dog,

like Otto. Nella, please...

I've been here 11 days, Johannes.

Longer than it took God to make the world.

Until tonight, you've barely spoken to me.

You're right.

I'm sorry.

I'll make it up to you.

Come.

♪♪

♪♪

(gasps)

Do I disgust you that much?

You do not disgust me.

You cannot bear me to touch you.

It's not that.

I have to share you with her.

Is that it?

I think you'd better leave

before one of us says something we both regret!

No, no, Johannes, I know... Go, get out!

(sobbing)

(gasping for air)

(shaky breath)

(rattling)

(groans) No.

Come on, Madame.

You can't stay in bed all day.

Madame Marin wants us all to go to church

to hear Pastor Pellicorne preach.

And there's something for you.

It must be from the artisan.

Whatever it was you ordered.

But I didn't order anything.

Well, then, all the more reason to find out what's inside.

(gasps)

♪♪

(indistinct chatter)

AGNES: Look, they brought the savage.

Seigneur, Madame Meermans.

Where is your brother?

Did Johannes invite you to dine with us?

No, he did not.

But you will come,

won't you?

Shouldn't his wife be the one

who issues the invitation?

Please,

do come tomorrow.

We would be honored.

Come, let us take our place.

PASTOR PELLICORNE: Adultery!

Usury!

Fornication!

And fouler deeds, too degraded to name in God's house!

Do I talk of Sodom?

Of Gomorrah?

No, I speak of Amsterdam!

A city of closed doors, through which no man can see.

MARIN (whispers): Nella! Please!

PELLICORNE: But God sees!

For too long

we have tolerated the iniquities of our fellow men.

But a storm is coming.

So, look now into your own hearts

and the hearts of your neighbors,

and consider how you have sinned.

(gasps) Marin?

Marin, are you quite well?

PELLICORNE: Husbands, love your wives...

(barking distantly)

(rattling)

♪♪

Only two of them...

What are you doing?

Where did you get these?

The Miniaturist.

I don't know their name, Marin gave me Smit's List.

It was the only one in there.

What did you tell them? Nothing.

But you ordered these. No.

No, I didn't order these.

I only ordered the lute, the cage, and the marzipan.

These just... came.

How did they know what to make?

I don't know.

No more.

No more, you understand?

I think you're forgetting your place.

What is that?

As a servant.

My place is to protect this house,

and all in it, including you.

We stand or fall together.

A wonderful sermon

from Pastor Pellicorne on Sunday, don't you think?

Oh, but of course, you missed it, Johannes.

Let me guess.

He offers absolution for your own sins,

but only if you confess those of your neighbors.

Shall we try the sugar?

Cornelia?

Allow me.

Mmm.

Exquisite.

(scoffs)

Cornelia, Otto, what do you think?

Very good, Seigneur.

Delicious.

Mmm.

AGNES: God be thanked,

you're going to make our fortunes, Brandt.

FRANS: When do you go to Venice?

JOHANNES: I'll be gone within the month.

I have to know.

What did Brandt get you for a wedding gift, hm?

AGNES: I want one of my own,

and I want mine to be better than hers.

MARIN: Thank the Lord they've gone.

Clear up in the morning.

(Marin and Johannes arguing indistinctly)

♪♪

It's lined with fur?

MARIN: It is you who has a hand in that.

JOHANNES: If you'd only considered...

MARIN: Why should I... (door opens, shuts)

♪♪

(door shuts) (lock turning)

(curtain rustles)

♪♪

"My darling,

"I love you like the ever-changing sea,

"always different, and always moving...

"You are sunlight through a window which I stand in, warmed.

"One touch lasts a thousand hours.

I love you from the bottom of my heart."

MARIN: Give it to me.

(gasps)

Marin,

I'm sorry.

I said give it to me.

Marin...

Marin, let go of me.

Get out! Marin, you're hurting me!

Johannes will hear of this.

(door shuts)

(downstairs door opens)

(dog barking)

(downstairs door shuts)

(footsteps outside)

(footsteps echoing)

Where is everyone?

Madame Marin is unwell.

I took her her breakfast, but she...

And Johannes?

He left early for his office.

No! Tell me!

Where did he go last night?

He didn't come back!

And why is Marin so worried?

I told you.

He went to his office.

No.

No, you're lying to me.

Where are you going, Madame?

It isn't even 8:00.

You should stay here. I can go wherever I want.

Otto! (door closes)

Otto!

(seagulls cawing, indistinct chatter)

(pulling at locked door)

(man shouting indistinctly)

(pulling at locked door)

(keys rattle)

(lock turning)

(door creaking)

Johannes?

(man breathing heavily)

(man sighing in ecstasy)

(moaning)

(gasps)

No. (shushing)

(distressed sounds)

♪♪