Mimino

Friends call Valiko Mizandari "Mimino", which means "falcon" in Georgian. Working as a helicopter pilot in his own village Telavi, Mimino (Vachtang Kikabidze, famous Georgian singer and actor) delivers mail, fruit, sheep, and sometimes, cows. His greatest dream is to fly real, big aircraft. He leaves for Moscow to pursue his dream and to fly with the big international air company "Aeroflot". In Moscow, Mimino finds himself in many different situations, funny, sad, and even dramatic. Upon his arrival to Moscow, he stays first in the posh hotel that overlooks the Red Square where he checked in as a participant in the international Medical conference – thanks to the phone call of an influential relative of his relative. (Don't ask - this is one of the realities of life in the Soviet Union). In the hotel he meets an Armenian, Rubik Khachikyan, a truck driver, who becomes his friend (uniquely talented Frunzik Mktrchyan, one of the leading comedy actors in the Soviet Union who also put the real emotional deepness in every part he played). Rubik was given the room by mistake. When thrown out of hotel, and run out of money, two men would spend the night in Rubik's truck. Then Mimino accidentally bumps into a man who had offended his sister several years back…Georgia is the country where the words "honor", "pride", and "decency" mean a lot for a real man and as the result of the unexpected meeting, Mimino would spend several days in jail and go on trial for teaching a scoundrel a few lessons…. Finally, Mimino becomes a pilot of a supersonic jet liner and flies all over the world but wherever he goes, he feels homesick, and Georgia is always on his mind - its skies, its mountains and its valleys and the faces of his family and friends…

Made twenty-eight years ago, this dramedy has been one of the most beloved among the viewers of all republics and many nationalities of the former USSR. It has achieved a cult status, and its one-liners and quotes have become the elements of every day conversations. Its creators are very talented artists – the writer/director Georgi Danelia, ("Walking the Streets of Moscow", "Don't Grieve", "Autumn Marathon"), and his co/writer, my favorite Russian prosaic, Victoria Tokareva (Fellini said about her, "What a kind and wild imagination she has" and he seriously considered making a movie with her – unfortunately, it did not happen) had created a kind, warm, lyrical but in the same time funny, insightful, at times, sad story with the heroes real, earthy, decent, and very human. Both, Kikabidze and especially Mktrchyan gave their best performances in this timeless (and I am not afraid of this definition) masterpiece. Comes with the highest recommendation. The DVD with English version is available from RUSCICO.

for Vakhtang Kikabidze performance, one of Soviet cinema legends . for the music. and for the game with national identity details. nostalgic, fresh, warm, it is testimony of a time and proof of a kind of freedom. show of small things, picture of cultural misunderstandings, story of honest man in big city, it is not exactly a comedy but bitter reflection to sense of desire. moral lesson, like many other films of period, it is, today, nostalgic view of self - definition. beautiful images of Georgia, streets of Moscow, silhouette of churches, meetings and troubles, the secondary characters of village, the people of city, the cow in air and the adorable Hachikian in Frunzik Mkrchyan are parts of touching entertainment. In this conditions, Mimino remains a bright face of a period , poetic, childish and really precious.

After decades, it remains the same. The humor, the seductive plot, the lovely Vakhtang Kikabidze performance. And, sure, the feeling of old world rediscover. Because all is heroic, nice and hopeful like in the time of childhood. The friendship, the ideals, the dialogues and cultural clashes are the good points for one of Soviet films proposing not exactly the picture of a social reality or moralistic lesson but just a simple story about greatness of life.

Helicopter pilot from Georgia (the one in the former Soviet Union) goes to Moscow hoping to become an international pilot. There he befriends a guy from Armenia (near Georgia, but not the same!), runs out of money, finds himself in jail, etc. The movie plays out lots of funny differences between Russian (read - European) and Georgian (more Eastern) cultures, provincial vs. big city, and others. And as a golden thread throughout the whole movie - kindness, decency and warm hearts of the heroes. This play on cultural differences evoke "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", which was made thirty years after "Mimino"...

I am not sure if this movie has ever been subtitled in English, but I am sure it would be a delight to American viewers.

Never boring, obscene, or stupid, but definitely absolutely charming and legendary. Together with "Kin-Dza-Dza" it achieves the highest heights of cinematography. Both these outstanding masterpieces belong to one and the same director. These two friendly movies are something very special and if you soak up their atmosphere you will definitely see their high class. Our modern cinema can hardly rival their greatness. Under the influence of such rare but perfect movies people would have become more attentive to each other and would have had more common sense. Cinematography would have been a healer and a good reliable teacher then.

The main character is the Man. Probably he is a good-for-nothing brawler, a bad poet, and a poor conversationalist. And he surely does not have lots of dough. And no lethal weapons under his jacket. But he has a heart and behaves in every single situation like a hero. The woman who rejects and mocks him will understand her mistake sooner or later… Why are we writing and reading reviews on IMDb? Even an answer to this question can be found in "Mimino". Remember that scene when he makes a phone call and gets to Israel instead of his village? What a common man of today would do in exactly the same situation? And what the Man would do? Watch it to see. An eternal cinema classic.

Give it a 10, "Zdachi ne nado!" Thanks for attention.