MA’AM CHIRITZA GOES TO JASSY (1988) – comedy film online

Directed by: Mircea Drăgan
Script by: Draga Olteanu-Matei, based on works by Vasile Alecsandri
Cast: Draga Olteanu-Matei, Dem Rădulescu, Ileana Stana Ionescu, Ștefan Tapalagă, Marin Moraru, Mihai Fotino, Cezara Dafinescu, Cornel Constantiniu, Bianca Ionescu, Dorin Anastasiu, Vasile Gherghilescu, Adriana Șchiopu, Jean Constantin, Iurie Darie, Ioana Drăgan, Adrian Păduraru, Ruxandra Aramă, Dionisie Vitcu, Rodica Popescu-Bitănescu, Cornel Vulpe, Teofil Vîlcu, Dumitru Rucăreanu, Ștefan Sileanu, Marian Hudac, Dan Damian, Emilia Porojan, Aleaxndru Lazăr, Gheorghe Dănilă, Victor Moldovan, Violeta Berbiuc, Mihai Marta, Nae Lăzărescu, Gheorghe Ulmeni
Producer: Marin Theodorescu
Cinematography by: Ion Marinescu
Edited by: Adriana Ionescu
Sound: Nicolae Ciolcă
Music: Free transcriptions based on works by Alexandru Flechtenmacher; original music and conductor George Grigoriu
Year: 1987
Category: Feature film
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 76 minutes

PLOT SUMMARY

In her quest to find suitable husbands for her daughters, Aristiţa and Calipsiţa, Lady Chiriţa finds herself caught up in an endless series of adventures and mishaps. Pungescu and Bondici, notorious con thieves, pose as boyars, and Chiriţa, blinded by her dream of grandeur, is ready to make them her sons-in-law. In the end, the arrest of the swindlers allows the two young ladies to marry the men of their dreams.

CRITICAL REVIEWS:

“Like its predecessor — which, in fact, had resigned itself to remaining a mere ‘explanatory statement,’ as Topârceanu might have put it—the new film owes its existence first and foremost to the tireless efforts, on multiple fronts, of Draga Olteanu Matei, both screenwriter and lead actress; the popular actress understood how to broaden the scope of her exploration to encompass the entire body of work by the ‘bard of Mircești,’ from which the screenplay retains precisely what suits it in terms of drama and spectacle, weaving together into a cinematic work of evident quality the various ‘samples’ excerpted from the themes explored.” – Nicolae Ulieriu, “Săptămâna” magazine, December 22, 1988 – aarc.ro

“With verve and a refreshing ‘playfulness’—Ileana Stana Ionescu… As for Draga Olteanu Matei (who, as they say, ‘carries the film on her shoulders’—one cannot help but recognize her perfect suitability for the role: through a lucidly controlled verve, through the precise rhythm of her stage movements, through her gestures that suggestively trace arabesques, the actress intelligently highlights the robust vitality that animates her art, bringing to life a truly popular character and thus upending the primacy of the actors who, in the tradition established by Matei Millo—wanted to be (only they!) the ‘true’ interpreters of Chirița.” – Nicolae Ulieriu, “Săptămâna” magazine, December 22, 1988 – aarc.ro

“The comic songs that Alecsandri composed with Flechtenmacher’s assistance appear in the film, enriched by the contributions of composer and conductor George Grigoriu. I cannot say exactly how closely the two styles overlapped. The film needed an abundance of sound, color, and rhythm, tenderness and hearty laughter, a frenzied rush of movement and dance, and sparkling intelligence.” – Ileana Perneș Dănălache, “Cinema” magazine no. 1, January 1989 – aarc.ro

“Director Mircea Drăgan focused his attention on extracting comic effects from the humor of the language; he was fortunate that costume designer Ileana Oroveanu maintained her same tasteful exuberance, and he reasoned that if the jokes wear thin and the sweetness becomes cloying, the rhythm softens, and the smile wrinkles, there is still one door left open: the audience’s joy at encountering the ever-cheerful Alecsandri.” – Ileana Perneș Dănălache, “Cinema” magazine no. 1, January 1989 – aarc.ro

“Unlike contemporary sequels, which tend to be driven by commercial rather than creative considerations, ‘Chirița în Iași’ is a planned sequel that has been in production ever since ‘Ma’am Chiritza Goes to Jassy’ was in theaters. With the same team both in front of and behind the camera, the film ensures a natural continuity between the two productions.” – Iulia Necșulescu, cinepub.ro

“Draga Olteanu is both the star of the film and the creative force that ensures its coherence, given that she also wrote the screenplay (and served as assistant director) for both film adaptations, which succeed in (meaningfully) reinterpreting Alecsandri’s texts.” – Iulia Necșulescu, cinepub.ro

TRIVIA:

• The film adapts several of Alecsandri’s works, not only the play of the same name, but also satires.
• Chirița is one of the most popular comic characters in Romanian theater, created by Vasile Alecsandri in a series of plays written between 1850 and 1875.
• The character’s popularity has even extended beyond Romanian theater: plays featuring Chirița have been performed on stages in Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Prague, Bratislava, and Budapest.
• The character’s origin is a story of literary pride. It is said that Vasile Alecsandri proposed to one of Anastasia Greceanu’s daughters, but was rejected because he was considered “a mere scribbler”. Legend has it that the playwright turned this humiliation into literary revenge by creating the character of Coana Chirița.
• According to memoirist Constantin Gane, the character’s real-life model—Anastasia Greceanu—came from an aristocratic family and hosted lavish balls at her mansion in Fălticeni, where aristocrats from all over Moldavia gathered.
• Some of the characters’ names in the play correspond to real ones in the Greceanu family: for example, Guliță is said to have been inspired by Georges Greceanu, and Calipsița by Canano.
• Critic George Călinescu described the character as “an old coquette, a bourgeois woman yearning for social advancement, but also a bonjourist”—a social type typical of the 1848 era.
• Beyond the caricature, some critics see in Chirița a paradoxically modern character: an ambitious woman, convinced that the world must move “forward”, who wants to educate her children, travel, and adopt European customs.
• The role of Chirița has traditionally been played by men in drag, ever since its 1850 premiere at the National Theater in Iași. The first famous performer of the role was Matei Millo, an actor who made Chirița one of the most popular characters on the Romanian stage.
• Over time, the role has been played by numerous famous actors, including in drag: Ion Flinteșteanu, Marcel Anghelescu, Arcadie Donos, and Miluță Gheorghiu.
• The character has also been portrayed by great actresses of Romanian theater, such as Tamara Buciuceanu and Stela Popescu, confirming its popularity on stage.

LINES:

 • “I’ve never been so ashamed in my life!” – Chirița (Draga Olteanu-Matei)
• “Oh, oh, oh, what a bother it is to have a grown daughter!” – Chirița (Draga Olteanu-Matei)
• “Experience is the best teacher!” – Bârzoi (Dem Rădulescu)
• “He wants manners, so let’s give him manners!” – Bârzoi (Dem Rădulescu)
• “Bite my nose!” – Bârzoi (Dem Rădulescu)
• “I say we go back to Iași. It’s a big town, lots of people.” – Bondici (Matei Moraru)
• “Don’t believe what you see with your own eyes. Believe what I tell you.” – Chirița (Draga Olteanu-Matei)
• “They’re a bit wilted now, but they’ll get over it.” – Chirița (Draga Olteanu-Matei)
• “A woman’s heart is like a piece of bacon. The longer you hold it over the fire, the faster it melts.” — Chef Barabule (Jean Constantin)

ARTICLES:

• Review: “Ma’am Chiritza Goes to Jassy” by Ileana Perneș Dănălache – aarc.ro
• Review: “Ma’am Chiritza Goes to Jassy” by Nicolae Ulieriu – aarc.ro
• Romanian Theater and Films: The “Chirița” Series (1850, 1855, 1865, 1875) – agerpres.ro
• Who Was Coana Chirița, the Woman Who Inspired Vasile Alecsandri? – historia.ro

This premiere is part of a national archive project supported by the Romanian National Film Centre.
Special thanks goes to the Romanian Filmmakers Union and to the Romanian Film Archive.

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