Review by ramencity

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.