Review by meitschi

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.