Problemista, 2024.
Written and Directed by Julio Torres.
Starring Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, Isabella Rossellini, RZA, James Scully, Greta Lee, Laith Nakli, Larry Owens, Greta Titelman, Spike Einbinder, Jason Furlani, Miles G. Jackson, Kelly McCormack, Megan Stalter, Catalina Saavedra, Glo Tavarez, Theo Maltz, Logan J. Alarcon-Poucel, and Shakina Nayfack.
SYNOPSIS:
Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in NY. As time runs out on his work visa, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country.
Presenting the immigrant experience as a bleakly comedic fairytale in Problemista is not only creatively nourishing but also an imaginative yet familiar, simplistic way for comedian/writer/director/star Julio Torres to convey those hurdles and struggles to an unknowing audience. There’s nothing wrong with telling this story in a traditional, dramatic fashion without magical realism touches, but by taking blueprint aspects of Cinderella, except the protagonist is looking for a visa instead of a red shoe, it allows an opportunity to enlighten the uneducated in a playful, humorous manner on serious issues.
Growing up in El Salvador, Alejandro (Julio Torres) was gifted everything he ever wanted by his mother (Catalina Saavedra), living in what feels and looks like an isolated land, again, straight out of a Disney fairytale. This effect is further realized with narration from Isabella Rossellini, explaining that the mother granted Alejandro’s every wish to keep him happy and complacent, disinterested in venturing into dangerous parts of the world. That didn’t work, as eventually Alejandro grew curious about the world beyond El Salvador. As an adult immigrant, he finds himself in New York City chasing a dream job as an ambitious toy designer, wanting his concepts to carry stimulating purpose for children rather than just creating mindless distractions (some studio executives out there should probably take a lesson from him.)
Wisely, Julio Torres doesn’t merely stick with the one joke of America being a cruel and unforgiving place for immigrants to attain documentation, let alone live and chase their dreams, even if it is a biting, funny one that theoretically could sustain an entire 90-minute film. Down on his luck, facing rejection from the toy company (he hopes to one day work for Hasbro), Alejandro only has about one month to find another sponsor and another job, but he has to jump through some other hoops before he can legally make money. It’s a mess, with the laughs quietly fading away once it settles in that this is the reality for many undocumented immigrants out there chasing the proverbial American dream.
Alejandro’s luck somewhat changes for the better after bumping into Tilda Swinton’s Elizabeth, an outspoken hurricane of a woman who couldn’t be any more different from the timid and spineless Alejandro. On that note, perhaps it’s not fair to blame Alejandro for being that way, as race, class, and privilege should always be part of the conversation and generally dictate who is allowed to be loud when standing up for themselves. Nevertheless, it’s clear that Alejandro could learn a thing or two from her and has a personality arc to traverse.
As for Elizabeth, she is verbally yelling up a storm about the prices being hiked on her husband Bobby’s (rapper-turned-actor RZA) cryogenic housing pod. She is an art critic; he was an artist who sadly developed cancer, deciding to freeze himself in hopes of staying alive. The only problem is that the company providing this technology has yet to figure out how to reawaken people in the future, meaning that they mostly collect money to preserve whoever opted into this program. Elizabeth can no longer afford this but is determined to keep her husband alive in the pod. As for Alejandro, at this point, he has just been fired for accidentally briefly unplugging the generator that keeps the cryogenic pods powered.
The two collide, with Alejandro practically falling into a potential job as Elizabeth’s next personal assistant, so long as he can fake pretending to know what the hell he is doing using a fictional file sorting program to keep Bobby’s paintings in order. He also teams up with her to round up some of Bobby’s paintings and open up an art exhibition, with both of them aiming to earn a good amount of money. There also appears to be interest in such a show, as Bobby, a mostly failed artist of egg paintings no one found intriguing, now has a bit of a cult following for freezing himself alive, demonstrating that there is some satirical humor in the art world here.
Keeping in line with the fairytale imagining, many conversations morph into intentionally cheap-looking depictions of medieval sets and costumes, almost as if we are watching community theater. There is a running joke that Elizabeth is a hydra because if someone successfully shuts her up about one problem, she will return with two or three more to complain about. Through this imagination (sequences like this pop up with many characters), it keeps one-half of Problemista firmly planted in fantasyland, quick to make dark jokes about the undocumented immigrant experience, the art world, and how complacently selfish everyday strangers can be enemies situations (including a nasty woman working for a bank.)
With so many ideas that play, Problemista does occasionally lose focus and momentum while also sometimes taking things slightly too dark for the material (at one point, Alejandro finds himself taking a crack at sex work treated like a throwaway gag), and seems to have invented the futuristic cryogenic angle as a means to have an emotional ending that doesn’t fully feel earned. There are also worse problems for a film to have than dabbling in too many ideas.
Watching Julio Torres go from aloof, unconfident, and quiet to realizing his value in the world is a treat just as much as the laughs provided here. Having someone as talented as Tilda Sinton to encourage that character growth boisterously makes for a great pairing. However, what really elevates Problemista is the genius creativity on display, tackling terrifying themes and realities with gut-punch hilarity and clever fairytale analogies.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published February 27, 2024. Updated February 28, 2024.
