25 Watts may be an ode to Linklater and Jarmusch, but the film is more than capable of standing on its own. 

A worthy addition to that sub-genre of low-budget, seemingly low-effort, films that defined the independent film scene during the 90’s and early 2000’s, 25 Watts (2001) was shot and released as the trends that inspired it began to sputter out. A loving homage to the likes of Linklater, Jarmusch, and even Kevin Smith, the film isn’t radical revolutionary cinema, but it is skillfully crafted and, just as importantly, fun to watch. 

One of less than two dozen films made in and by Uruguay at the time of its release, 25 Watts follows three ne’er-do-wells as they stumble through misadventures over the course of a weekend in Montevideo. Javi (Jorge Temponi) snacks on dog food, picks on Leche (Daniel Handler), and reluctantly fights to keep his humiliating job. Leche has an Italian exam, but spends more time working up the courage to ask out his tutor than actually studying. And the affably lobotomized Seba (Alfonso Tort) just wants to rent some porn. 

The directors, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, have a knack for depicting the casual absurdity of youth. Stakes are low, plot is minimal, and laughs are plentiful. This is, after all, a film about characters that spend their Friday night ringing neighbors’ doorbells and gleefully sprinting to safety before someone answers. 

It helps that rather than celebrate Uruguay’s uniqueness, Rebella and Stoll present Montevideo as a South American Nowhere, USA. There’s no reason why the events of the film couldn’t take place elsewhere. The bland black and white suburb complete with sleazy corner shops and concrete apartment compounds is far from pretty, but it gives the film such a strong air of honesty that viewers swallow manic episodes alongside more subdued sequences. 

Shot in black and white with refreshingly non-showy camerawork, the beginning of 25 Watts is marked by a stagnant camera that insists on maintaining a decent distance from its subjects. However, it’s not that Rebella and Stoll fear the cinematic spice cabinet; as the film progresses, they slowly mix tasteful close-ups and tracking shots into the batter. Yet, the film isn’t entirely free of indulgence. One scene shot from the point of view of a spinning record may well be an unnecessary ingredient, but it’s dizzyingly fun, so why complain? 

With their first feature, Rebella and Stoll managed to create something truly universal. We all know, or perhaps have been, a Javi, Leche, or Seba. We’ve all experienced the contradictory presence of youthful energy and teenage apathy that 25 Watts captured so well. 

This film is representative of the artistic adolescence of two talented young filmmakers whose partnership tragically ended with Stoll’s suicide in 2006. Their second feature, Whiskey  (2004), made a splash at Cannes and showed all indications of a brilliant career to come. Alas, like the callow central trio of 25 Watts, Rebella and Stoll’s friendship never entered the realm of adulthood onscreen. 

25 Watts  is available on DVD through Facets on August 21. You can buy your copy here 

Author: Ora Damelin is a freshman film student at Columbia College Chicago. She loves to share her opinions on film and is delighted-and slightly befuddled-that those opinions are now published online.