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.
