Creativity doesn’t have to be some awful, chaotic being that destroys your humanity. Inherently, it could be that little voice in your head that makes your writing unique. The process of achieving recognition in some creative sector is a different kind of chaos that proliferated writer, director, and star Julio Torres in his journey to gaining a work visa in the U.S. and becoming a comedy writer. How hard can it be?
Problemista is endearing from start to finish. Childish, in all the best aspects, and brimming with imagination and dreamy-like imagery. It’s truly the most creative film I’ve seen so far this year. Torres, known for SNL and his stand-up work, crafts a fascinating directorial feature debut from his own experience in film as the character Alejandro. The movie also stars Tilda Swinton, Isabella Rossellini, RZA, and Greta Lee.
Following Alejandro as he slips away into a portal from El Salvador, he arrives in New York, leaving his mother and her architectural paraphernalia behind to realize his dream of becoming a toy designer. Alejandro’s work visa is rescinded when he loses his job at a company called FreezeCorp. They freeze people’s bodies with the promise that they may wake them up in the future. There, he meets the problemista who may or may not sponsor him. There’s a noticeable pattern of “maybe,” “somewhat,” and “probably” that stresses how difficult it is for Alejandro to navigate this system of attaining a work visa to stay in the U.S. His only hope lies in Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), a devilish character who’s every customer service worker’s worst nightmare. He plays along as her unpaid assistant, helping her curate an art exhibit for her husband’s egg paintings while he’s freezing in the cryogenic facility. Along the way, Alejandro falls into the Craigslist job scheme, selling hair packages and standing in line for iPhones to make rent. Craigslist is an actual character, played by Larry Owens, which adds to the film’s surrealist aesthetic. With time ticking away in Alejandro’s 30-day grace period, he’s desperate to make money and satisfy his outrageous boss. It’s a quirky story filled with quirky characters that all manage to work quite perfectly.
Tilda Swinton is so annoyingly great in this role. She’s having a ton of fun with the character, and that enthusiasm and passion show on the screen. We learn through Elizabeth that sometimes the most awful people in the world give the best advice. Torres’s Alejandro is quite different: soft-spoken and submissive to authority. He also has an adorable gait that may remind audiences of Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter, both blossoming beings on their journey to enlightenment (side note: you may want to check out the podcast Julio Torres did with Emma Stone for A24). Alejandro’s relationship with Elizabeth doesn’t feel transactional; although it may seem so on the surface, they’re both driven by passion and find comfort in each other’s presence.
What’s so wonderful about Torres’s directorial debut is how ambitious and creatively free he is to do whatever he wants. Some of the weirdness may turn a few audience members away, but most will marvel at this adventure and find many pieces of Alejandro’s journey relatable. There’s also a larger conversation to be had about the difficulties of maintaining a work visa in the U.S. Not to mention the biases towards job applicants living in the U.S. versus out of the country, as Alejandro applies for a remote job at Hasbro that only allows people residing in the U.S. to submit the application. While Alejandro must navigate these difficulties, he never once dreams of quitting. Becoming a toy designer is his life’s purpose, and he knows it. Elizabeth may seem like the polar opposite, but she has a lot to teach him about reaching the top.
When you want something, you have to fight for it. Sometimes it’s necessary to be a problemista (though not to the extent of Elizabeth) to fulfill your dreams.
5/5 STARS