What can I say? This is one of the greatest movies of all times and a real jewel of the Russian cinema. It is such a great pity that this film has never really made it to the West and is totally unknown outside Russia.
The cast is superb and the acting is absolutely fantastic. You can feel a very strong influence of the Russian theatrical tradition here. Yankovsky as Munghausen gives the best performance of his career.
This movie is incredibly warm, romantic, optimistic and, of course, very very funny. Its humour is hilarious and yet very elegant and tasteful. If you don't know any Russian, just ask somebody to translate some of the jokes to you. My favorite funny scene is Mughausen's speech at the divorce hearing. "Some couples are created for love but we were created for divorce.."
"Tot samyi Munghausen" is an absolutely wonderful and fairy-tale romantic comedy, extremely enjoyable, something like a mix of "The Princess Bride" and "Four weddings and a funeral" only much better.
And yet, the film has a serious and a profound message underneath. It will make you think about intellectual honesty, being true to yourself, the real meaning of love, friendship and laughter in our lives. Watch this movie and you are guaranteed to fall in love with it.
