What Is 27 Missing Kisses About?
The premise of 27 Missing Kisses in 319 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In a secluded village that feels suspended between the ordinary and the mythic, a teenage girl arrives for the long, sultry days of summer. Sibylla is sent to stay with her aunt, carrying the restless curiosity of youth into a landscape where the rhythm of life drifts lazily yet the undercurrents pulse with desire. The village, with its cracked stone houses and endless fields, becomes a spacious stage for whispered confidences, lingering glances, and the quiet hum of a community that watches each other’s private dramas unfold like seasonal rituals.
Among the residents, a widower who spends his nights mapping the heavens watches the world with a detached tenderness. Alexander exudes a quiet magnetism that both unsettles and fascinates the newcomer, his presence a blend of scholarly distance and unspoken yearning. Living under his roof, his son balances the innocence of adolescence with a protective sharpness that hints at deeper bonds. Mickey, his son, moves through the village with the same daring optimism that Sibylla displays, their shared age creating a friendship that feels both simple and charged with unspoken competition.
The tone of the film wavers between light‑hearted comedy and lingering melancholy, treating each encounter like a fleeting vignette painted with both humor and a hint of melancholy. Surreal moments—such as spontaneous observations of villagers’ entangled romances—float alongside everyday chores, giving the story a dream‑like elasticity. The atmosphere is infused with a whimsical sensuality, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary under the watchful eyes of the protagonists, and every lingering look feels like a promise of something unfulfilled.
Against this backdrop, the characters navigate a summer thick with longing, curiosity, and the whispered promise of “missing kisses.” Their interactions, framed by the village’s timeless scenery, suggest that love, lust, and imagination can intertwine in ways both tender and bewildering, inviting the audience to linger in the space between what is said and what remains forever just out of reach.
What Happens in 27 Missing Kisses?
The complete story of 27 Missing Kisses, from the first scene to the last, in 380 words (about 2 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 4 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
Fourteen-year-old Sibylla, Nutsa Kukhianidze, arrives in a small Georgian village for a summer visit with her grandmother. At the outset, Mickey, Shalva Iashvili, a boy her age, narrates that Sibylla had promised him 100 kisses that summer but only delivered 73, leaving 27 missing kisses as the title hints at and the mood of the film suggests. The story unfolds in loosely connected episodes, with Sibylla roaming freely through the village and countryside, sometimes entering homes uninvited. She is often by Mickey’s side, yet she develops a noticeable crush on his father, Alexander, the 41-year-old astronomer, Evgeniy Sidikhin, whose life and affairs become the center of her observant, curious gaze.
The plot threads are observational and intimate, as Sibylla witnesses the relationships and infidelities of various villagers. The mood grows more daring after the town attends a screening of the 1974 French erotic film Emmanuelle, an event that both Sibylla and Mickey secretly witness from behind the theater screen. Some encounters are played for comedy—such as an engineer involved with another man’s wife, where a ball-bearing ring traps his partner in a ribald mishap—while other affairs drift toward harsher, less pleasant consequences. The film keeps its tone deliberately episodic, balancing moments of humor with more provocative, troubling situations.
Sibylla forms a friendship with a French ship’s captain, Pierre Richard, who has towed his vessel to the village outskirts in search of his “lost sea.” Her curiosity leads her to shadow Alexander as he seduces other women, and she pushes the boundaries by sneaking into his bed at night, pleading that he marry her and promising she would make a better wife than the others. Startled from sleep, Alexander orders her to leave, a confrontation that amplifies the film’s tension rather than resolving it.
The tension erupts in a tense moment when Mickey discovers Sibylla and his father, half-naked outside the house, and misreads the situation as a completed affair, grabbing his father’s rifle in a surge of protectiveness and fear. Sibylla runs away, but not before a shot rings out, and she climbs aboard the captain’s ship, which is still being towed toward a river. As the vessel makes its way toward open water, Mickey’s voice-over circles back to the haunting refrain of the missing kisses: 73, never quite fulfilled.
27 Missing Kisses Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “Sybilla arrives for a Georgian summer” to “Ending: the missing kisses linger”. 12 events name a place, across 11 locations.
- 1
Sybilla arrives for a Georgian summer
Fourteen-year-old Sybilla arrives in a small Georgian village to spend the summer with her grandmother. She freely roams the village and countryside, observing people and their routines. Mickey's voice-over introduces a promise of 100 kisses, which becomes a running motif throughout the summer.
When:Summer Where:Georgian village
- 2
Sybilla explores daily life and obsessions
Sybilla observes various villagers and enters some homes uninvited, learning about the intimate dynamics around her. She is often accompanied by Mickey, a boy her own age, though her attention increasingly fixates on Alexander, the 41-year-old astronomer. The episodes blend curiosity with a sense of burgeoning infatuation.
When:Summer Where:Village and surrounding countryside
- 3
Emmanuelle screens in the village
Maddening secrets of the town surface as most villagers attend a screening of the 1974 erotic film Emmanuelle. Sybilla and Mickey sneak into the theater to watch from behind the screen. The film's erotic mood amplifies the town's hidden affairs and tensions.
When:Evening Where:Village cinema
- 4
Comic and tense affairs unfold
Across the village, intimate liaisons unfold, some comic, others more fraught. A memorable moment occurs when an engineer's affair leads to a humorous but embarrassing predicament involving an object during a confrontation. The episodes blur lines between desire and consequence.
When:Various days Where:Various homes and streets
- 5
Sybilla befriends the French captain
Sybilla forms an unlikely friendship with a French ship's captain who has towed his vessel to the village outskirts in search of his 'lost sea.' She becomes a companion and confidant, sharing small moments along the harbor. The captain offers a different perspective on longing and escape.
When:Summer Where:Outskirts of the village, near the harbor
- 6
Sybilla sneaks into Alexander's bed
Sybilla sneaks into Alexander's bed at night and asks him to marry her, promising she would be a better wife than the other women. Alexander is startled by the intrusion and orders her to leave. The moment marks a turning point in the power dynamics around him.
When:Night Where:Alexander's house
- 7
Mickey discovers the encounter
When Mickey sees Sybilla and his father half-naked outside the house, he assumes they have consummated an affair. He grabs his father's rifle in a panicked, protective reflex. The misunderstanding heightens the tension surrounding Alexander's relationships.
When:Night Where:Outside Alexander's house
- 8
Sybilla runs away toward the sea lines
Sybilla runs away from the scene in fear and confusion, and she finds the French captain nearby. She decides to join him as he tows his ship toward the river, seeking escape and companionship. The moment shifts the focus from village gossip to a possible new horizon.
When:Night Where:Outside the village / harbor
- 9
The captain's ship nears the river
The captain's ship is towed toward a river, moving from the village outskirts toward open water. Sybilla continues to observe and participate in his voyage as the two form a fragile bond. The journey marks a new, uncertain chapter for them both.
When:Towards night Where:Toward river at village outskirts
- 10
Sybilla and the voyage to open water
As the ship reaches open water, the voyage becomes a symbol of escape from the village's gossip and constraints. Sybilla's presence intersects with the captain's search for his 'lost sea' as they drift toward an unknown future. The mood blends melancholy with stubborn curiosity.
When:Open water Where:Open water
- 11
Final voice-over of the kissed count
On the open water, Mickey's voice-over repeats the refrain of the 73 kisses actually received, underscoring the bittersweet nature of Sybilla's summer. The motif centers the film's preoccupation with desire, longing, and the limits of affection. The ending remains open and ambiguous.
When:Open water Where:Open water
- 12
Ending: the missing kisses linger
The story closes with the sense that the missing 27 kisses will remain unresolved. The string of episodes leaves audiences with an ache for what could have happened, as the characters drift apart along the river. The film preserves a memory of youthful curiosity and the costs of adult impulses.
When:End Where:River and sea
Who Are the Main Characters in 27 Missing Kisses?
4 characters, among them Sybilla (Nutsa Kukhianidze), Mickey (Shalva Iashvili) and Alexander (Evgeniy Sidikhin): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
- S(
Sybilla (Nutsa Kukhianidze)
Played by Nutsa Kukhianidze
A fourteen-year-old visitor who roams the village, observing and sometimes entering others' homes. She is bold, inquisitive, and fascinated by adult romance, developing a crush on Alexander and testing boundaries as she navigates innocence and desire.
- 👀 Observant
- 💭 Curious
- 🌗 Boundary-crossing
- M(
Mickey (Shalva Iashvili)
Played by Shalva Iashvili
A teenage boy who accompanies Sybilla and provides a counterbalance of vulnerability and playfulness. He is close to her in age, often a witness to the relationships around them, and becomes protective when jealousy or danger arises.
- 🧒 Teen
- 🤝 Loyal
- 🌀 Naive
- A(
Alexander (Evgeniy Sidikhin)
Played by Evgeniy Sidikhin
An astronomer and the father of Mickey, an adult figure who becomes the focal point of several affairs. His relationships with other women form the center of the town’s romantic dramas, and Sybilla's attraction to him complicates loyalties.
- 👨💼 Adult
- 🧪 Seductive
- 🗺️ Complex
- C(
Captain (Pierre Richard)
Played by Pierre Richard
A French ship's captain who arrives with his ship to the village outskirts in search of his lost sea. He offers a divergent, outward-looking perspective to the town's intimate dramas and forms a quiet counterpoint to the local romances.
- ⚓ Captain
- 🧭 Mysterious
- 💬 Traveller
Where and When Is 27 Missing Kisses Set?
27 Missing Kisses is set in Georgia and small village. Here is why the place matters to the story.
Where
Georgia, small village
A rural Georgian village provides the summer backdrop for the film. Narrow streets, a tight-knit community, and a tranquil countryside create a setting where private dramas unfold openly. A local cinema screening and everyday visits to homes become stages for gossip, flirtation, and the collision of public life with private desires.
- 🇬🇪 Georgia
- 🏞️ Village setting
What Are the Themes of 27 Missing Kisses?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Love & Infidelity, Cinema as Catalyst and Coming-of-age & Innocence.
-
01
Love & Infidelity
A fourteen-year-old observer watches adult romance and infidelity unfold, highlighting the complexities of desire and boundaries. Sybilla's crush on Alexander exposes power dynamics and the fragility of trust within relationships. The villagers' gossip amplifies private choices, revealing how affection can collide with propriety.
-
02
Cinema as Catalyst
The town's screening of the provocative Emmanuelle becomes a catalyst for sexual curiosity and social change. Sybilla and Mickey watch from the margins, while adults test boundaries offscreen and on. The film within the film blurs lines between art and life, intensifying rivalries and longing.
-
03
Coming-of-age & Innocence
Sybilla's summer marks a liminal moment where childhood innocence encounters adult longing. Her bold attempts to engage with Alexander reveal the pull between curiosity and moral boundaries. The story traces the uneasy progress toward maturity amid misadventures and consequences.
What Kind of Film Is 27 Missing Kisses?
Whimsical in tone, with slow pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Whimsical
- Pacing
- Slow
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- Medium
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A whimsical and melancholic coming-of-age tale that unfolds in a dreamlike Georgian village, combining sensual curiosity with the bittersweet pangs of first love and unfulfilled longing.
- nostalgic
- dreamlike
- surreal
- yearning
- melancholic
- sensual
- coming of age
- unrequited love
- small town life
- summer romance
Content notes: underage crush on adult, non-graphic nudity, child endangerment.
Quiz
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