Let's talk about Napoleon Dynamite.

While watching Napoleon Dynamite, there were times when I felt like the entire internet was deceiving me by telling me it was a good movie. However, upon reflection, I think this wasn't a consequence of me finding the film bad, but rather the fact that I was watching something that felt new and refreshing, yet very familiar at the same time.

Directed by Jared Hess (yes, the same guy from Minecraft) and released in 2004, Napoleon Dynamite is an independent film that tells the story of Napoleon, a boy who lives in a rather peculiar town in Idaho.

Presented as a comedy with touches of slice-of-life, Napoleon Dynamite could be called the father of modern indie comedies, characterized by its use of absurd humor without bordering on the exaggerated, while everything is wrapped in a very aesthetically pleasing package.

But what makes it brilliant? For some, it's the unpredictable nature of its script combined with impeccable comedic timing; for others, it's due to the brilliant performances of Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez, who have earned a well-deserved place in American popular culture.

However, for me, the answer is much simpler: Napoleon Dynamite resonated so deeply with its viewers because it perfectly captured the vibes of the early 20th century, as well as the uncompromising life of a rural town in the United States of America—monotonous, yes, but beautiful in its own way.

And while the film can be reduced to those iconic moments we see every day on sites like Twitter or Reddit, I feel it has so much more to offer, especially if you're willing to immerse yourself in the universe it presents.

It's not a very pleasant film for a first viewing, but there's something indescribable about it that will probably make me gravitate toward it a second time.

As an adult, I have a bit of a hard time connecting with his more rebellious side, but I fully understand that this could have been a film that would have completely shaped my sense of humor if I had seen it when I was 16.

This score was taken from my Letterboxd account.