Watch 25 Watts

25 Watts is a Uruguayan film that gives a glimpse of the lives of three friends, Javi, Leche, and Seba, as they navigate their way through their twenties, and try to figure out what to do with their lives. The movie is set in Montevideo, Uruguay, and takes place over the course of one day, starting in the morning and ending in the late evening.

At the start of the film, we see the three friends sleeping in a park, after a night of partying. It's clear that they don't have any immediate obligations or responsibilities, and are just killing time. Javi, the most aimless of the three, is the first to wake up, and he spends his day wandering around the city, unsure of what to do with himself. Leche, a bit more focused, spends the day chasing after his dream of becoming a musician, while Seba, the most grounded of the three, spends the day with his girlfriend, trying to convince her to leave her job as a stripper and start a new life with him.

Throughout the film, we get a sense of the boys' personalities and what they're like. Javi is apathetic and prone to zoning out, Leche is passionate but often unrealistic, and Seba is practical, but maybe a bit too boring. They bicker, joke around, and share moments of genuine friendship. Despite their different personalities, they're all united by a feeling of aimlessness and uncertainty about their futures.

The film captures the feel of urban life in Montevideo, with its gritty streets, colorful neighborhoods, and tight-knit communities. There are scenes of Javi walking through a graffiti-covered underpass, Leche playing guitar on a street corner, and Seba joking around with his girlfriend in their cramped apartment. The film has a sense of intimacy and authenticity, as if we're getting a raw behind-the-scenes look at the lives of these three young men.

The dialogue is naturalistic and often funny, with the three friends engaging in playful banter and sharp one-liners. The film is shot in a somewhat improvisational style, with long takes and handheld cameras creating a sense of spontaneity and realism. The actors, all of whom were relatively unknown at the time of the film's release, give naturalistic, nuanced performances that make us care about their characters.

25 Watts is a film that captures the feeling of being young and directionless, of not knowing what one's place is in the world. It's not a plot-driven film, and there are no big climactic moments, but it's fascinating in its portrayal of the everyday lives of its characters. The film's title, which refers to the amount of energy in a lightbulb, is a nod to the film's themes of the characters being at a point in their lives where they're not quite shining yet, but still have potential to light up in the future.

Overall, 25 Watts is a charming, low-key film that's well worth a watch for anyone interested in Uruguayan cinema or slice-of-life stories about young adults. It's a film that captures a certain moment in time and a certain feeling that's universal, and it does so with humor, warmth, and authenticity.