Csinibaba (1997) User Reviews

Parody of an era

[meitschi · 8/10 · 28 October 2001]

Lovely musical parody of the communist Kádár era in Hungary. The film is full of references to the period, to its patterns of thinking, to its propaganda. (Like the rumors - spread by the communist propaganda of the 50s and early 60s - that Chesterfield cigarettes contain cocaine and coke is a psychoactive drug.) The songs are also from this period - this gives "Csinibaba" (Pretty Baby, also a song title) a nostalgic touch, but tinted with irony at the same time: now we can laugh about this era - at last! This probably explains the huge success of this film in Hungary. (The backdrop of the plot - the Ki mit tud? (Who knows/is able to do what?) talent search show - of 1962 really did take place.) I don't think this film misunderstands the era, it just doesn't take it too seriously. Instead, it uses the means of humor and irony to free us from the past.

A humanist parody of a short-lived genre

[ramencity · 23 February 2001]

I must disagree with the other viewer's assessment. I have seen Csinibaba several times, and to me it is a deft parody of the socialist musicals of the 1960s [the documentary East Side Story is a witty exploration of the sub-genre]. It uses the socialist cliches of workers' gatherings, 'competitions' and such, that were used to show the People merrily building socialism in the original musicals, true; but every character in this film is suffused with a 'politically-incorrect' loneliness. The montage during the song "Valaki Kell Nekem Is" ["I Also Need Someone"] highlights the fact that everyone loses in this society. The loss is not tragic, just sad. True, the filmmaker had nothing to say about the seedy side of the reality--the side seen in Karoly Makk's "Szerelem" or Marta Meszaros' "Naplo a Gyermekeimnek"--but this is intentional, since Timar wanted to utilize this framework of the musical. "Megall az Ido" would be a good film to watch this one with--same time, same generation, but without the frame.

completely misunderstands a whole era

[adson · 1/10 · 8 February 1999]

This is a movie that wants to display the past communist era in Hungary as one where life was cheery and happy, only a few did encounter the government. This is quite a false opinion, as it does not mention that terror and fear ruled the people's everyday lives. When people did not trust even their closest relatives there could not be such a barbiegirl-like world. Some may suspect that this was quite propagandistic. People who do not know the communist world might think it was good. However, this does not meet the truth.

Fun in the sixties

[laci-5 · 31 January 2002]

It makes no sense to think this movie makes 'those terrible days' seem 'golden'. Instead, it makes us able to laugh at those strange days with the nostalgic music balanced by fast-edited and ironic/satiric pictures. And don't forget: even if those were quite dark ages for a country, still those people who were young in those ages could (and had to) find the fun in the then-present conditions. Whoever whenever and wherever grows up usually remembers his young ages as something nice, even if they know that age was not politically correct at all. Please forget politics; enjoy the satiric-nostalgic show with lot of fun.