25 Watts

Jim Jarmusch's Stranger than Paradise doesn't suffer under its shift to Montevideo. The two young directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll find ways to embroider the original with a specifically local humor, to make the city perform in the film's favor and, thanks to the off-center portrayal of the neighborhood, to attain an international appeal. Filmed in an attractive black-and-white, the movie traverses the everyday misfortunes, difficult loves and amusing eccentricities of a group of characters living beyond any logic, particularly that of jobs and of social guidelines. There is something glorious in this irresponsibilty. (Viennale)