User Reviews

27 Missing Kisses shows that Europeans are still capable of producing strong little pictures about life in general as lived by ordinary people . Much of the charm of the film lies in the recognition of man's ability of making a complete fool of himself. The natural beauty of the leading character, Sibylla, her disarming honesty in her doomed love for an older man makes one wonder at the forced and unnaturally contrived lives we all lead. Never preachy or heavy-handed, sentimental nor crude, but always utterly believable, its straightforwardness is deceiving. The village in which most of the action takes place is filled with its fair share of funnily sketched characters. Entertaining as they are, they only serve as distractions from what lies beneath.

The clever and convincing script, the sober but beautiful photography and the natural performances combined with the assured direction make this German/Georgian co-production a little gem of which any big name director would have been proud. I'm happy to say they still make them this way.

Set in Georgia -- the one in Eurasia, not the one around Atlanta -- or perhaps seacoast Bohemia, this movie, directed by Nana Dzhordzhadze, is a Shakespearean comedy that makes liberal use of images from his tragedies. In a theatrics-mad town, the screening of the French movie Emanuelle has everyone discussing this new vision of art, and has fourteen-year-old Nutsa Kukhianidze deciding she is going to seduce and wed the forty-one-year-old father of her age-appropriate boyfriend.

It's shot in sections of Tbiliisi and Athens -- the one in Greece, not Georgia -- and lit by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael that give it the look of a Kenneth Branagh Shakespeare movie from the 1990. Somehow it manages to mock the psychology of teen-aged girls and show their sorrows at the same time, and be beautiful to look at.

27 Missing Kisses is a good pastime if you want a different film that drags some folklore along it. It's funny, but tragic too. I can't say I loved it to the bone, but I found it interesting for sure.

What happens in a little town in Caucasus when a teen girl falls in love with a teen boy's father and the teen boy with her? Such an interesting subject. The director doesn't get stuck on some particular frames, yet he still fails a little when trying to make the film flow. So it could have been better. But I would still recommend it to those who are bored or Hollywood garbage. Don't expect a masterpiece, and don't expect to to laugh your rear off either. But you still won't regret watching this flick anyway.

7.5/10 from me

This movie is very lively and poetic. Based around a romantic triangle between two teenagers and the boy's father, the movie plunges you in the ambiance of a small georgian village. Combining moments of comedy and tragedy, it succeeds in being entertaining.

A summer adventure for precocious fourteen year old Sibylla, when she goes to visit her aunt. lots of wise old sayings and superstitions. full moons. romance. local boy Mickey (who's a little nuts) has a crush on Sibylla, but she follows his father Alex (he's 41) around, spying on him constantly. Nutsa Kukhianidze, (Sibylla) was actually 17, and quite developed up front. and already has the eye of all the men in town. some beautiful music. so many leeches. pretty scenery. but there are so many locations listed, one can't be sure which scenes were filmed where. some silliness with sex toys. skulking around town, following the other locals. in this town, even the grim, disapproving higher ups aren't really so prim and proper. everyone here is a little quirky. which works. a fun little adventure. much ado about nothing, Republic of Georgia style. directed by Nana Dzhordzhadze. story by Irakli Kvirikadze. both from the Republic of Georgia.

Popularly unheralded, "27 Missing Kisses" is a gem of a movie. Nana Dzhordzhadze directs with warmth and a lightness of touch whilst retaining a keen eye for some truly memorable imagery. In fact, scenically, the film a visual treat. The plot is a simple one but beautifully realized due in part to the excellent performances of Nutsa Kukhianidze as the main protagonist Sibylla and in the supporting role of Veronica, Amaliya Morduinova. The movie unfolds at an easy pace which allows the character of Sibylla to fully develop and for the supporting characters, particularly the women, to fully reveal themselves. Much of the story takes place around a simple village environment and Dzhordzhadze deserves credit for making this place, so warm and gentle, yet filled with such wonderful characters, so believable. It is a film full of varying emotions but never descends into gratuitous sentimentality. The soundtrack is subtle, never intrusive and absolutely appropriate, beautifully reflecting the mood of the film.

If this film has any shortcomings, perhaps it could be said that some of the sub-plots are less than perfectly resolved and most of the male characters are clichéd in type but these really are minor faults indeed in what is a completely beguiling movie.

A film that captures the sexual awakening of adolescence, with a 14-year-old girl (Nutsa Kukhianidze) developing a crush for the 41-year-old father of her boyfriend. This is put alongside what seems to be the sexual awakening of a town in a former Soviet social republic, coincident with the screening of the film Emmanuelle. Maybe there's a political message in here along the lines of Westernization and freedom, but mostly I saw it as a coming of age tale, one with an undercurrent of pride in Georgian culture. We see people laughing and unperturbed even though busses and shepherds are shelled by an out of control military leader on a nearby hillside, and a father is unfazed when his teenage son grabs a gun, saying simply "think before you shoot." There is something stoic at the bottom of all the zaniness. The film has moments that are surreal and others which are comedic, and it's never boring.

Kukhianidze is a gorgeous young woman but as the character is 14 and the actor was 17, I thought the number of scenes where she appeared topless was a little gratuitous. Maybe they're in there to show this transitional period where a girl who is still immature is now in a beautiful young body, something emphasized by her mother still sponging her down in a bathing scene. The scenes where she peeks around a corner to spy on others engaged in illicit activities also add to this, and her eyes convey quite a bit of a fearless, playful, and yet awkward girl. It's a compelling performance and she made the movie for me.

In an interesting parallel, Director Nana Jorjadze is pretty fearless herself, with all of the film's bawdiness and the ethereal images she puts up on the screen. At times I felt the story line was a little too silly, such as the penis getting stuck in the ball bearings, and I wish there had been a slight tonal shift to emotions. One of the young women (Amaliya Mordvinova) has a habit of kicking up her long legs provocatively, and that seems to match Jorjadze's unabashed, carefree spirit though. She also gives us a lovely touch at the end through the narrator, communicating that these times in our lives, precious though they be in our memories, slip away from us.

This is a beautiful movie in every way. It's too bad that Hollywood can't produce something like this once in awhile. While Sibylla is misunderstood by everyone around her, the audience understands only too well that sometimes we can't explain our feelings. Sometimes we can't just automatically conform. In fact, sometimes the most interesting people are people like Sibylla who is beautiful self from beginning to end. She follows her heart no matter how illogical or imprudent those feelings might be... not matter the cost. Nutsa Kukhianidze is spectacular. Great to look at. Fun to spend two hours with. A very convincing young rebel.

I realize that the film maker wishes us to find her 14 year old Georgian Lolita a delightful free spirit but after 30 min all I could see was a smug bore.

27 Missing Kisses is the tale of a young girl moving into an isolated town. Like all isolated towns, everyone is a bit stuck up. The journey of our protagonist is, in some way, to liberate these simple folks and educate them on the world outside. Everyone is prudent, at least on the outside, and Sibylla's outgoing and sexualised view of the world is shocking. Her attitude is frowned upon by the town, but secretly lusted after by the males. After the release of the movie Emmanuelle, everyone shows their hypocrisy by engaging in sexual antics. The film was rather hard to enjoy. It was a bizarre fantastical comedy, but with all its quirks and charm it was never really likable or interesting. Some points were just downright confusing. I finished the movie feeling absolutely nothing for anybody on screen, but was still annoyed at how they all seemed bent on ruining each others lives. It was like Amelie, but a boring and heartless version.

I saw this movie lately at Brussels's intenational film festival. It felt quite amazing because I had the impression there was some common points between this and "Luna Papa" which was presented last year. Then the director came to speak about the movie and I learn both films had the same scenarist who was also the director's husband. But there's something more in that new movie, something near of what I would call perfection! You know, the kind of movie in which you find everything you can expect from a film: poetry, in the images in "clair-obsur" but also in the way the actors act and look, laugh and joy, which seems to be a characteristic of movies from Eastern Europe, a wonderful use of Goran Bregovic's music (which is actually the same as in Arizona dream, but it doesn't matter because it's very fitting...

I think it was simply the best movie I saw for the last five years!

I'm very disappointed. First of all, the German synchronization is bad. Maybe in the original version (with subtitles) it would have been better, but the whole movie looks like if the director saw Luna Papa and Black Cat White Cat and tried to produce something in this style, too. But failed in every aspect. It's an incongruent mixture of a weird unbelievable story and very childish gags. No atmosphere, no life. Extremely primitive sex-humor. I voted 2, because 1 is the worst, and the other point for 'Sybilla', she's really cute. Sorry - I like 'eastern' movies, but this one is really superfluous.

At the time, this movie came just after the schock that was "Amelie". Not as technically perfect or original, this movie shares some of Jeunet's masterpiece poetry with a sense of the grotesque typical of this director (he or she ? Who cares ?), with lots of eccentric touches, and another late, great role for the underrated Pierre Richard. This one really went straight to the heart, by some impossible-to-explain chemistry. I'm still wainting for a DVD. video. anything !

I saw "27 Missing Kisses" tonight on a campus theatre. The main character, Sibylla played by Nutsa Kukhianidze, is a free-spirited tomboy who enlivens a small town where she is visiting her aunt. I found the film to be edgy, zany with nonsequiturs, and interesting though perhaps self-referentially absorbed. It was reasonably believable and interesting, and some of it was quite funny, but I didn't find it to be particularly memorable. I probably missed key cultural context, though the film's narrative style did remind me a bit of Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. The setting and photography were quite appealing.

Sibylla comes to spend her vacations by her aunt, this will be a very special summer for a teenager that knows this pretty and rebel girl able to awake the senses of a whole community in a Georgian town. The movie is very poetic and full of funny (sometime surreal) situations, it starts with the total eclipse of sun and with a promise. Mikey asks to Sibylla to kiss her and she agrees telling to the boy she will give him 100 kisses before the end of the summer. Mikey is very in love with Sibylla and he would like to spend every minute of the short season in her company, but for the girl Mikey is not as fascinating as his father Alex.

This movie was really good. Although the critic kept talking about it being a women who made it and blah blah blah. Never mind all that. Just enjoy the movie. It's very good. The Imagery in this is wonderful. She had an eye for great movie shots. The story was really good. It's so hard to find a good story now a days. And the girl. Oh My oh my. You have to see her to understand. She is actually 16 or 17 when the movie was made. And she can make a man do stupid things.