The Tango of Our Childhood is a 1984 Soviet-Armenian tragicomedy film written and directed by Albert Mkrtchyan and starring Frunzik Mkrtchyan (his brother) and Galya Novents. Novents' performance as a mother who struggles to raise her children during post-World War II Armenia was awarded Special Mention at the Venice Film Festival. Mkrtchyan dedicated the autobiographical story to his hometown of Gyumri. The filming locations highlighted the historic buildings of Gyumri which were marked for preservation as the Kumayri Reserve in 1980. The New York Times described Novents' performance as that of "a kind of Anna Magnani earth mother who acts at the top of her lungs."

Plot

The film is set in Leninakan (now Gyumri) in the aftermath of World War II. Novents portrays a wife whose husband has left her and their three children for his wife's best friend.

Cast