| Director | Georgiy Daneliya |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy drama |
| Runtime | 92 min |
| Country | Soviet Union |
Valentin Mizandari, nicknamed Mimino (; ), is a Georgian bush pilot based in his hometown of Telavi. When he reunites with his former flight academy classmate Valera, who is a Tu-144 pilot in Tbilisi, Mimino meets Valera's stewardess colleague Larisa and becomes infatuated with her. Comparing his modest work to Valera's glamorous career, he begins to feel disillusioned with his life. He asks his boss for a transfer to larger aircraft, hoping eventually to become an airline pilot.
Mimino goes to Moscow, leaving his family and his old life behind. Before his departure, his grandfather gives him a cryptic warning: if he ever encounters a particular man, he must not kill him. In Moscow, he is set up in an exclusive hotel. He shares a room with boisterous Armenian truck driver Ruben "Rubik" Hachikyan, who has been given the room after being mistaken for an endocrinologist with the same surname. The two quickly become friends.
Mimino invites Larisa to dinner, but she fails to appear. After Rubik encourages him to try again, he asks her to the theater. Before they can meet, the pair are evicted from the hotel when Rubik’s mistaken identity is uncovered. When Mimino telephones Larisa from a payphone, her younger sister answers and cruelly pretends to reject him, leaving him convinced that Larisa no longer wishes to see him. Meanwhile, Mimino submits his application to become an airline pilot.
Before parting ways, the two attempt to sell one of Rubik’s spare tires, leading to them knocking on the door of Nugzar Papashvili. Mimino instantly recognizes him and reacts with anger, forcing his way into the apartment. Accused of assaulting Nugzar and breaking his chandelier, Mimino is arrested. Refusing to explain his actions to the court, Mimino is sentenced to two years in prison. His lawyer later uncovers that years earlier, Nugzar had abandoned Mimino’s sister after fathering her child. In light of this information, the court reduces the sentence to a fine.
Mimino and Rubik part ways, promising to meet again someday. Mimino then learns that he is ineligible to begin training as an airline pilot, as he has just exceeded the maximum age of 35. With his prospects in Moscow seemingly exhausted, Mimino heads to Vnukovo Airport and tries to sell his watch. There he meets Ivan “Vano” Volokhov, who mistakenly believes Mimino is the son of an old wartime friend and arranges an interview for him with the airline chairman. Although the misunderstanding is soon revealed, the chairman is impressed by Mimino’s honesty and offers him the job.
Mimino becomes an international airline pilot and eventually flies a Tu-144 to West Berlin. However, he quickly discovers that his new career does not bring him the satisfaction he expected. He attempts to telephone Rubik from West Berlin, but the operator is unable to connect him to Dilijan. When Mimino instead gives the operator the name "Telavi", she mishears and connects him to Tel Aviv. By pure chance he is connected to Isak, a Georgian emigrant living there. They sing a children’s song together as Isak is moved to tears at hearing his native language. This encounter makes Mimino increasingly homesick.
Mimino later encounters Larisa again and learns that her younger sister—not Larisa herself—had answered the telephone in Moscow. Although Larisa invites him to contact her if he returns to Moscow, Mimino remains dissatisfied with his new life.
The film abruptly cuts to Mimino back home in Telavi, where he is once again flying Mi-2 helicopters. Having experienced the life he had believed would make him happier, he returns to his hometown and his former occupation, now genuinely content with the life he had previously taken for granted.