Retro Nostalgia: Hungarian Film Csinibaba Turns Twenty-five

Twenty-five years ago, a small film was released in Hungary that was unlike much that came before it, and is still celebrated as a cornerstone of local film history. Csinibaba, which was shown elsewhere with the awkward translation of Dollybirds, was an instant classic, and while it never got a fair shot at an international audience, is much beloved by devoted Hungarian and non-Hungarian audiences.

A musical that showcases the kitschy side of 1962 Socialist Budapest, Csinibaba tells the story of a down-and-out band trying to make it to the West by winning a showcase. But really the story is secondary to the hilarious set-pieces that take advantage of Budapest’s very particular Socialist style, in its ‘presszo’ cafes, dance halls, and public spaces. It is a film that precociously utilises a nostalgia for a recent era, when bananas were a delicacy and Western styles were trendy and subversive.

Directed by Péter Timár and written by Gyula Márton, the film was a critical and commercial success locally upon release. Shot with the camera running at half speed, the actors had to slow down their action, which gave them their particular marionette-like movements on screen. It’s hard to parse whether the unique tone to Csinibaba is satire, parody, or in line with more traditional 1960s musicals. One critic put it like this, “Csinibaba is a musical film, a parody of the ‘still popular’ musical films of the sixties, but also a satire of the nineties dating back to the sixties”. That may sound complicated, but the film is anything but. In short: it’s a simple delight.

You don’t need to speak Hungarian to appreciate the humor and style of Csinibaba, now happily 25 years old. Just have a look at the clip, and it will all make sense.

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