25 Watts
Encyclopedia
25 watts is a 2001 Uruguayan
urban
comedy drama film directed and written by Juan Pablo Rebella
and Pablo Stoll
. The independent film
picture stars Daniel Hendler
, Jorge Temponi, and Alfonso Tort. The film received a total of ten awards and three additional nominations, including Best Feature Film Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Best First Feature Film Award at the Havana Film Festival
, and others.
. The story is about three young boys, Leche, Javi and Seba, trying to survive until Sunday. They have a lot of problems regarding studies, girls, and their lives consist mosly of drinking or sleeping or meeting strange people like the crazy delivery boy, a retarded drug addict, and a philosophical counter clerk at a video rental store.
Javi has landed a job driving a sound truck that plays the same radio spot for pasta all day long, while his buddy Leche, who is supposed to be studying for his exams, instead finds himself having sexual fantasies
about his tutor
, and Seba is waylaid by a handful of small-time dope dealers when all he wants to do is go home and watch the porno movie he's just rented.
The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Karlovy Vary Film Festiva, Czech Republic; the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland; the Warsaw Film Festival, Poland; the Medellín de Película, Colombia; the Latin America Film Festival, Poland; and others.
magazine and reporting from the Rotterdam Film Festival, gave the film a mixed review and wrote, "A rare offering from Uruguay, 25 Watts dully portrays the dim lives of three teenage boys in a sleepy Montevideo neighborhood. With no story to tell, tyro co-directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll place far too much faith in hang-dog, Jim Jarmusch
-style humor, emphasized by repetitious dialog, flat B&W lensing, and limited sets. Pic—which won one of the three Tiger Awards and the Youth Jury Prize at Rotterdam—lacks the spark of inspiration that would make this formula work, and most viewers are likely to run for cover well before the end."
Nominations
Cinema of Uruguay
The Cinema of Uruguay has a role in the Culture of Uruguay. The industry has many actors and directors that made the Uruguayan cinema a part of Latin American cinema.-The early days:...
urban
Urban culture
Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. In the United States, Urban culture may also sometimes be used as a euphemistic reference to contemporary African American culture.- African American culture :...
comedy drama film directed and written by Juan Pablo Rebella
Juan Pablo Rebella
Juan Pablo Rebella was an Uruguayan film director and screenwriter.He attended the Catholic University of Uruguay where he studied social communication, it was here that he started to direct short films and his collaboration with fellow student Pablo Stoll first began.After graduating in 1999 he...
and Pablo Stoll
Pablo Stoll
Pablo Stoll is a Uruguayan film director and screenwriter.He attended the Catholic University of Uruguay where he studied Social communication, it was here that he started to direct short films and his collaboration with fellow student Juan Pablo Rebella first began...
. The independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
picture stars Daniel Hendler
Daniel Hendler
Daniel Hendler is an Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as Bottom of the Sea, Family Law, The Paranoids, Phase 7, and award winning Lost Embrace by director Daniel Burman, with...
, Jorge Temponi, and Alfonso Tort. The film received a total of ten awards and three additional nominations, including Best Feature Film Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Best First Feature Film Award at the Havana Film Festival
Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
, and others.
Plot
The film covers 24 hours in the life of three street youths in MontevideoMontevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. The story is about three young boys, Leche, Javi and Seba, trying to survive until Sunday. They have a lot of problems regarding studies, girls, and their lives consist mosly of drinking or sleeping or meeting strange people like the crazy delivery boy, a retarded drug addict, and a philosophical counter clerk at a video rental store.
Javi has landed a job driving a sound truck that plays the same radio spot for pasta all day long, while his buddy Leche, who is supposed to be studying for his exams, instead finds himself having sexual fantasies
Sexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy, also called an erotic fantasy, is a fantasy or pattern of thoughts with the effect of creating or enhancing sexual feelings; in short, it is "almost any mental imagery that is sexually arousing or erotic to [an] individual"...
about his tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
, and Seba is waylaid by a handful of small-time dope dealers when all he wants to do is go home and watch the porno movie he's just rented.
Cast
- Daniel HendlerDaniel HendlerDaniel Hendler is an Uruguayan film, television, and theatre actor who works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, where he lives. He is known for his starring roles in films such as Bottom of the Sea, Family Law, The Paranoids, Phase 7, and award winning Lost Embrace by director Daniel Burman, with...
as Leche - Jorge Temponi as Javi
- Alfonso Tort as Seba
- Valentín Rivero as Hernán, a blond friend
- Walter Reyno as Don Héctor, Javi's boss
- Damián Barrera as Joselo, Héctor's son
- César Herrera as Neighbor in elevator
- Judith Anaya as Leche's grandmother
- Federico Veiroj as Gerardito
- Valeria Mendieta as María
- Silvio Sielsky as Pitufo, the Guinness records freak
- Claudio Martínez as Kiwi, young man with ball
- Teresita González as Neighbor with chair
- Roberto Suárez as Gepetto, the pizza man
- Gonzalo Eyherabide as Sandía, the video club owner
- Robert More as Rulo, a junkie
- Carolina Presno as Beatriz
- Nacho Mendy as Chopo, Rulo's friend
- Leo Trincabelli as Menchaca, Rulo's friend
- Luis Villasante as Waiter
- Marcelo Ramón as Bouncer
- Daniel Mella as Lalo, Beatriz' boyfriend
Exhibition
The film first previewed at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands on January 28, 2001 but was not released fully in Uruguay until June 1.The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Karlovy Vary Film Festiva, Czech Republic; the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland; the Warsaw Film Festival, Poland; the Medellín de Película, Colombia; the Latin America Film Festival, Poland; and others.
Critical reception
Deborah Young, film critic for VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine and reporting from the Rotterdam Film Festival, gave the film a mixed review and wrote, "A rare offering from Uruguay, 25 Watts dully portrays the dim lives of three teenage boys in a sleepy Montevideo neighborhood. With no story to tell, tyro co-directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll place far too much faith in hang-dog, Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
-style humor, emphasized by repetitious dialog, flat B&W lensing, and limited sets. Pic—which won one of the three Tiger Awards and the Youth Jury Prize at Rotterdam—lacks the spark of inspiration that would make this formula work, and most viewers are likely to run for cover well before the end."
Awards
Wins- Uruguayan Film Critics Association: UFCA Award, Best Uruguayan Film; 2001.
- Bogotá Film Festival: Honorable Mention, Juan Pablo Rebella; For focusing on the daily problems of today's youth; 2001.
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaThe Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...
: Best Actor, Daniel Hendler, Jorge Temponi and Alfonso Tort; FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
Prize, Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll; For injecting humor, visual energy and delightful dialogue into the 'Slacker' movie formula; 2001. - Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival, Spain: Audience Award, Feature Film, Pablo Stoll and Juan Pablo Rebella; Special Mention, Feature Film, Pablo Stoll and Juan Pablo Rebella; 2001.
- Havana Film FestivalHavana Film FestivalThe Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
: Coral, Best First Work, Pablo Stoll and Juan Pablo Rebella; 2001. - Lima Latin American Film Festival: Best Screenplay, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll; 2001.
- Rotterdam International Film Festival: MovieZone Award, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll; Tiger Award, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll; 2001.
Nominations
- Bogotá Film Festival: Golden Precolumbian Circle, Best Film, Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll; 2001.
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: Best Film, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll; 2001.
- Gramado Film Festival, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
: Golden Kikito, Latin Film Competition - Best Film, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll; 2001.
External links
- 25 Watts film review at La Nación by Fernando López