27 Missing Kisses

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.

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 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.

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.

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