Synopsis
A Russian circus visits the US. A clown wants to defect, but doesn't have the nerve. His saxophone playing friend however comes to the decision to defect in the middle of Bloomingdales. He is befriended by the black security guard and falls in love with the Italian immigrant from behind the perfume counter. We follow his life as he works his way through the American dream and tries to find work as a musician.
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Cast
- Robin WilliamsVladimir Ivanoff
- María Conchita AlonsoLucia Lombardo
- Cleavant DerricksLionel Witherspoon
- Alejandro ReyOrlando Ramirez
- Savely KramarovBoris, KGB agent
- Elya BaskinAnatoly Cherkasov
- Oleg RudnikYuri
- Aleksandr BenyaminovVladimir's Grandfather
- Lyudmila KramarevskayaVladimir's Mother
- Ivo Vrzal-WiegandVladimir's Father
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
It is also a rarity, a patriotic film that has a liberal, rather than a conservative, heart. It made me feel good to be an American, and good that Vladimir Ivanoff was going to be one, too. - 90
Time Out London
Romantic humanism may not be fashionable in these cynical cinematic times, but few directors reveal the tragicomic lives of ordinary people with such sensitivity and humour. - 90
The New Yorker
Wonderful comedy about a tragedy. - 80
Variety
Directed by Paul Mazursky with his usual unusual touches, Moscow would be in a lot of trouble without a superbly sensitive portrayal by Robin Williams of a gentle Russian circus musician who makes a sudden decision to defect while visiting the US. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
A loving, dramatic comedy that resembles early Frank Capra in its patriotism and sentiment, this movie just misses on several levels but has enough humor to make you smile and enough corn to warm anyone's heart. - 70
The Guardian
The absence of a real point of view, and of any depth of characterisation, prevents the otherwise pleasing entertainment drawing blood. - 60
Empire
As a fish-out-of-water comedy-drama, it works well. - 50
The New York Times
It seems unfinished, not yet thought through. Even the title doesn't quite fit, since the New York City that Vladimir discovers is far more densely populated by Southern blacks, Latin Americans, Western Europeans, Orientals and Indians from India than by Russians. It sounds as if it were one of those titles around which a screenplay was eventually composed.
