THE JDER BROTHERS (1974) – drama film online

Directed by: Mircea Drăgan
Script: Profira Sadoveanu, Valeria Sadoveanu, Constantin Mitru, Mircea Drăgan
Cast: Gheorghe Cozorici, Sebastian Papaiani, George Calboreanu, Toma Dimitriu, Geo Barton, Sandina Stan, Iurie Darie, Emanoil Petruț, Florin Piersic, Ioana Drăgan, George Motoi, Ștefan Velniciuc, Carmen Stănescu, Valeria Marian, Draga Olteanu-Matei, Jean Constantin, Colea Răutu, Gheorghe Dinică, Puiu Călinescu, Lucia Rîpeanu, Marcel Anghelescu
Producer: Ion Chiolom, Lidia Popiță
Cinematography by: Nicolae Mărgineanu, Mircea Mladin
Edited by: Iolanda Mîntulescu
Sound: Silviu Camil, Anușavan Salamanian
Music: Theodor Grigoriu
Year: 1974
Category: Feature film
Genre: Adventure, History, Drama, War
Duration: 136 minutes

127,025 – Cinepub viewers

PLOT SUMMARY

Ionuț (Sebastian Papaiani) is the youngest son of Commissioner Jder (Geo Barton), a trusted man of Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici). He falls in love with Nasta (Valeria Marian), the daughter of a boyar, and competes for her affection with Alexăndrel (Ștefan Velniciuc), the ruler’s son. His longing for Nasta motivates Ionuț, who, together with his brothers, dedicates his life to serving Moldavia.

CRITICAL REVIEWS:

“The film offers cinema lovers an inspiring and authentic artistic experience, serving great patriotic ideals, with our actors in roles of historical significance.” – Eugen Atanasiu

“Long and muddled, under the auspices of our film studio.” – Dumitru Fernoagă, director of the National Film House no. 5

“The film loses the thrill of the original prose along the way, (…) it is disjointed, emotionless, made with heavy strokes, merely mimicking the thrill and grandeur.” – Călin Căliman, “The History of Romanian Cinema” (1897-2000)

“The adventures of the Jder brothers in the service of Moldavia. Alexăndrel, the prince’s cocoon, attracts Ionuț, who is called to become his apprentice in the secrets of love. At the same time, however, Moldavia’s enemies conspire and threaten the reign of the wise Stephen. Presented in the credits as “A story by M.D. based on the novel ‘The Ionuț’s Apprenticeship’”, this film, in which considerable material resources were invested, is nothing more than another attack by mediocrity on the aura of Sadoveanu’s poetry. Intimidated by the memory of the master, formally assisted in the screenplay by his collaborators Profira Sadoveanu and Al. Mitru, but struggling with the immense epic material without managing to recast it into coherent cinematic patterns, Drăgan parades the cream of Romanian actors from scene to scene, like His Majesty’s herds filling the Cinemascope, in an artificial stringing together of disparate moments mimicking, now and then, thrills and grandeur. “A period setting in which the same schematic actions unfold, a mixture of adventure, idyllic eroticism, and nationalism”, according to Grid Modorcea. Nearly 6 million viewers witnessed the disaster.” – Tudor Caranfil, “Universal Dictionary of Films”

“Drăgan reveals his obvious limitations as an artist-intellectual, as a man of culture. His ability to penetrate the meanings of a (classic) text is reduced to an immediate reading of the ‘subject’, of the action, with rare forays into psychological or rational nuances. Such limitations inevitably spill over into the cinematic retelling.“ – Florian Potra, “Luceafărul”

“A rare case in Romanian film production, the film also has a director of photography: set designer Mihai Beciu, who composed over 1,400 shots for the film.” – Bujor T. Râpeanu, “Filmed in Romania”

“The cinematic story” (as “The Jder Brothers” is called in the credits) opens, like the novel that inspired it, on May 21, 1469, on Holy Ascension Day, at Neamț Monastery. (…) Incidentally, commentators who assert with conviction that the clerical universe could not appear on screen before 1989 due to censorship would do well to take note of the icons and priestly vestments in “The Jder Brothers”. Of course, this is a historical film, not a “contemporary” one, but the so-called experts avoid such distinctions, either out of superficiality or to give weight to their statements.” – Mihai Fulger, cinepub.ro

TRIVIA:

• As January 1975 marked the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Podu Înalt, it was decided to commemorate this event by making a film about the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great (1457-1504). Two films were made: “The Jder Brothers” and “Stephen the Great – Vaslui 1475“.
• While “Michael The Brave” (“Michael The Brave – Calugareni” & “Michael The Brave – Unirea”), 44,000,000 lei had been spent just a few years earlier, while for “The Jder Brothers”, only 7,200,000 lei were made available in the first phase.
• Over 30,000 people participated in the filming of the 40-day memorial service for the heroes of the Battle of Vaslui.
• When the “The Jder Brothers” project was approved, the previous “The Soimaresti Clan” was still causing a sensation in cinemas at the time.
• The film went into production on December 15, 1972, and filming began on May 11, 1973, at Neamţ Monastery.
• In an interview with “Cinema” magazine published in its June 1973 issue, Valeria Sadoveanu (Mihail Sadoveanu’s second wife) confessed that adapting the writer’s work for the screen was very difficult, and that the work of selecting certain moments from the novel and eliminating others seemed very difficult to her, because whatever the final choice, part of the audience would still accuse the team of “betraying” the literary work, which is what happened.
• In the same publication (“Cinema” magazine, June 1973), Constantin Mitru added that it would not have been easy for them to introduce elements from outside Sadoveanu’s world into the script – and they did not do so, because it would have looked “like putting a white patch on a black suit”. So any added moments are taken from his notes and other writings.
• Sebastian Papaiani recounted in an interview for the “Our Actors” section of “Almanahul Cinema”, 1978 that Mircea Drăgan took quite a risk casting him in the role of Ionuț Jder, an 18-19-year-old, when he was actually 37, and that it was therefore quite difficult for him to “get into character,” a role for which he also took horse riding lessons.
• Since he was not able to film the battle of Lipnic against the Tatars in 1469 in the town on the Nistru River (located, at the time, in the Soviet Union), Mircea Drăgan decided to reconstruct the battlefield at Dragomirna, in Suceava County. For added authenticity, the Tatars in Khan Mengli Ghirai’s army were played by members of this minority, who were invited by the director from Dobrogea and accommodated in the homes of villagers in Mitoc Moldoveni.
• The sets were designed by architect Constantin Simionescu. Among the rooms designed by the set designer in the spirit of authenticity are the room of Ilisafta, the lady of the house, in the Jder family mansion, where the mistress’s chair plays an important role and the room of the lady of the house, Nasta, in the mansion in Rădășeni, where Alexăndrel Vodă and Ionuț Jder are drawn into a trap, the architect intervening here by “selecting and amputating the frame, turning the isolating and protective space of Nasta’s room into a world unto itself, isolated as much as possible from the rest of the house and with a bright window frame looking outwards.” (Elena Saulea, “Constantin Simionescu or the master’s dialogue with posterity”, in the volume “Master set designers of Romanian film: five set designers in the spotlight”, Reu Studio, Bucharest, 2009)
• On CINEPUB, you can also watch other films directed by Mircea Drăgan, some of the most beloved Romanian films: “Stephen the Great – Vaslui 1475” (1975), “The Miscellaneous Brigade on Alert” (1971), “The Miscellaneous Brigade in the Mountains and on the Seaside” (1971), “The Miscellaneous Brigade Strikes Again“.

LINES:

• “We will fight for the independence of the country and order in this land!” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “In this country, disorder has blown like the wind. We found here too many rulers. There must be only one!” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “In the Land of Moldavia, there must be order in all the towns and villages and peace on all the trade routes, for I desire abundance in every home and peace and tranquility for all!” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “The time is coming for the warrior to call the lords of the Romanian land against the beast that has risen above the mountains.” – Hieromonk Nicodim (Emanoil Petruț)
• “Father says that uncle Nicoară, that is, father Nicodim, chose learning. That’s why he went to the monastery, to learn for all of us.” – Ionuț Jder (Sebastian Papaiani)
• “It has been discovered or written somewhere that His Highness Stephen has great luck when he goes to war with this horse.” – Ionuț Jder (Sebastian Papaiani)
• “Youth and wealth pass.” – Lady Ilisafta (Sandina Stan)
• “Women would do better not to meddle in the affairs of men and gentlemen! Better to keep quiet!” – Manole Jder (Geo Barton)
• “Women also have souls and minds and judgment!” – Jupâneasa Ilisafta (Sandina Stan)
• “That Turkish drink called coffee—some Armenian merchants brought it to me (…) It’s some beans that are roasted and then crushed and ground.” – Innkeeper Iohan Roșu (Marcel Anghelescu)
• “There is a blonde lady waiting for you. Look at us and you will see her!” – Raruca, the gypsy fortune teller (Draga Olteanu-Matei)
• “It is not good to show off a beautiful woman and a full money bag! Don’t let the wicked take notice!” – Archimandrite Amfilohie Șendrea (Toma Dimitriu)
• “All noblewomen like her want a voivode’s name. But we, the crowned heads, have a different way of life. A woman is sanctified by her closeness to the prince.” – Alexăndrel (Ștefan Velniciuc)
• “Perhaps you only desire her, Your Highness. But you no longer consider her a princess.” – Ionuț Jder (Sebastian Papaiani)
• “I swear I am telling the truth. I swear on my soul and on the fearful judgment at the end of time.” – Grigore Gogolea (Colea Răutu)
• “We must forgive you, Alexandre, because you are our child.” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “After you catch that reckless young man, bring him to me so that I may scold him. And forgive him.” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “We know the power of the Ottoman Empire. We know that a small country can seem like easy prey for the armies of the almighty sultan.” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “The boyar troops and the brave and rebellious warriors are ready for battle, Your Majesty!” – Uncle Vlaicu (George Carabin)
• “The many who toil are the salt of the earth.” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “The time will come when God will change the guests of heaven; and there will be only boyars there, while the poor will enjoy the goods of life here on Earth.” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)
• “I command: let the whole country rise up, and I decree that all peasants on the royal estates shall receive spears and swords; and when they come at our call, let no one be without those weapons, for they shall pay with their heads!” – Stephen the Great (Gheorghe Cozorici)

ARTICLES:

• Behind the scenes of cinema. How Stephen the Great’s wars were recreated on the big screen: “The Jder Brothers saved me from the army!” – adevarul.ro
• “The Jder Brothers”, a film based on Sadoveanu’s novel, on TVR1 – tvr.ro
• “The Jder Brothers”, a beautiful moment – jurnalul.ro
• The story of Mircea Drăgan, the director who staged the famous films in the “B.D.” series – adevarul.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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