Within Problemista is a heartfelt core conveying something profoundly human. It’s a marvelous mixture of surrealism and social satire that depicts the American dream as a nightmare of bureaucracy and phone calls to customer service. There’s nothing more absurd, the film argues, than the mundane.
Torres' humor might be too niche for some, but Problemista shows that it can be used to tell a compelling and heartfelt story for the masses.
Problemista invokes the simplicity of myth without ever letting its characters become simplistic.
Problemista is a brilliant comedy of the surreal and the absurd, and it finds no shortage of either in the bureaucratic processes of immigration.
Problemista is not like a Wes Anderson-type hyper-whimsy, but more like the surreal bursting joy of “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” It even breaks space and time like the latter. It is absolutely captivating.
The beauty is that Torres never forces these messages down your throat. The movie is too looney, too specific to be so obvious.
Problemista is not just funny, however, it is also rather earnest and compassionate towards its characters.
Torres peels back layers of the immigrant story in something packaged as entertainment. It may appear whimsical, but you don’t need to dig too deep beneath the surface to find universal emotions underneath.
This fearless, authentic debut showcases immense command of a unique and inventive form of humor, while touching on a very real issue with heart and candor.
Torres has created a weird and special little film, one that reflects his particular tastes and curiosities.
A pleasant little mess. Many clever scenes, some of which work toward the whole. Greta Lee is excellent for all 2½ minutes she gets.
Júlio Torres tem uma mente muito criativa para certas gags visuais, e na sua série "Fantasmas" o timing ficou perfeito. Para o cinema, seria necessáio um aprofundamento maior, e infelizmente o filme deixa a desejar. Há aqui também um protagonista que incomoda: sem carisma, se apoia exclusivamente no texto, e o roteiro higienizou muita coisa. O que restam são algumas tiradas e o talento da Tilda, que segurao longa de ponta a ponta. Essa busca pelo sonho americano e tendo a arte como pano de fundo em ambiente hostil já tem inúmeros exemplares de filmes, então o único diferencial aqui é mesmo o visual, que está bem inferior àquilo que Júlio pode oferecer.
Human beings unable to seek a better life because of the imaginary lines that we have created; individuals treated as numbers or even trash by bureaucrats without empathy; procedures and payments that have to be done to carry out other paperwork that allow us to earn money. As Lisa Simpson once said: "This whole damn system is wrong." In 'Problemista,' we recognize a society the same as ours, but with a protagonist — constructed in a very personal way — different from the ones we usually see in dramas about immigrants. This is a highly original film that addresses the absurdity of institutions with a dose of its own medicine: absurdism at its finest.
Everything has to be a metaphor - the visa process is a puzzle, the job search is an hourglass, fighting with his boss is like fighting a dragon as a knight, Craiglist is a weird omnipotent being. These are surface level observations but he seems to be very proud of them because we revisit these ideas every scene. Every conversation is interrupted with a bit to remind you of these metaphors as if you can’t follow along. The movie toes the line between satire and tritely sincere but it does a bad job at both.
Writer/Director/Star Julio Torres’ “Problemista” is a concoction that’s equal parts surrealism, magical realism and outright whimsy. Born in El Salvador, Torres moved to New York City to attend The New School. He was a writer on “Saturday Night Live” from 2016-2019 and Creator/Writer/Star of HBO’s “Los Espookys” (2018-2022). Several members of the “Los Espookys” supporting cast appear in this film.Many elements of “Problemista” are autobiographical. Torres stars as Alejandro, a young man who has recently arrived in New York City from El Salvador. Alejandro aspires to work at Hasbro to create new, odd versions of Barbie and the Cabbage Patch Kids. While trying to secure his work visa, Alejandro is fired from his job at FreezeCorp, where he was overseeing the remains of the freeze-dried, err, cryogenically maintained, artist Bobby. Bobby’s widow Elizabeth takes on Alejandro as an unpaid assistant. Elizabeth will sponsor his visa application, so long as Alejandro helps her curate an exhibition of Bobby’s paintings. As the ever-present narrator, Isabella Rossellini (“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”) provides the calm, thoughtful exposition that helps the moviegoer navigate this maze of odd events.Torres uses his platform to point out the insanity of the immigration system he endured. For example, Alejandro is required to submit a $6000 filing fee with his visa application even though it’s against the law for him to work in the US without, wait for it, acquiring a visa. Torres uses sand flowing through hourglasses to depict the plight of immigrants enmeshed in this Kafkaesque waiting process. When an hourglass runs out, it – and presumably the visa applicant – simply disappears. Throughout the film, Alejandro shuffles around on tiptoes, presumably terrified of doing anything to upset the delicately balanced craziness of his visa application or the surreal world he inhabits.There’s also some time spent sympathetically depicting what it’s like to be a gig worker trying to survive in NYC. Along the way, the New York art community takes a couple of well-deserved **** the role of Elizabeth, Tilda Swinton is likely to induce PTSD in any moviegoer who’s ever had an unreasonable boss. Elizabeth rails about service in restaurants and about service from Apple. For no apparent reason, she spends a lot of time obsessing about the virtues of Filemaker Pro (it’s a real thing), which Elizabeth believes is essential to properly organizing and curating her deceased husband’s paintings. Eggs are the subject all of Bobby’s paintings. His entire collection includes thirteen works. Elizabeth is labelled “the hydra” because she creates two additional problems every time she addresses an issue. She’s a total maniac, but she also believes in Alejandro, in her own demented way, and suggests he should take up for himself a little more. This is hardly a perfect film. The connections among the various scenes in the film can sometimes be tenuous. At points, Swinton’s character feels like fingernails on a blackboard. The surrealism regularly injected into the story will be off-putting for many (include me in that group). Even so, “Problemista” is an ambitious feature film debut for a writer/director well on his way to fully finding his voice.
Dreadful movie. We would have left midway through but parking was paid for and I had a beer. It was like a high school kid’s project for drama camp. And I read the professional reviews prior to attending which confirms to me that whole thing is a scam. Seriously. Nothing redeeming in that movie. Just shameful.
Julio Torres wrote, directed and stars as an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador living in NYC. His biggest challenge is getting a sponsor before his work visa expires, so he ends up involved with an eccentric, neurotic art critic (Tilda Swinton in some cool fashions taking a wide swing at being over-the-top obnoxious). His adventure includes some surreal moments on top of the immigration system's challenging bureaucracy. Torres creates a demure character that's often frustrating in his ineptitude, but charming just the same. His quirky vision has created a truly unique piece of cinema that's not completely successful, but is certainly a refreshing alternative to most current fare.
Julio Torres writes, directs, and stars in this whimsical comedic tale of a young El Salvadorian immigrant who ventures to New York in pursuit of fulfilling his dream as an innovative toymaker. However, he first must find sponsorship for his Visa, and his best hope lies with an erratic and temperamental art curator (a scene-stealing Tilda Swinton) who offers him an internship with her. Torres, who served as a longtime writer for SN, has a keen eye for whimsical and eye-popping colors, visuals, and storytelling. His depiction of the immigrant struggle is a unique, lively, and often-times funny one with plenty of heart of heart to spare too. His comedic chops are incredibly evident, and his chemistry alongside Swinton is palpable and always a hoot to watch. Even the narration provided by Isabella Rossellini adds a nice and charming touch. Overall, brilliantly acted and written with sharp and humorous dialogue and observations on immigration loopholes. It was a joy to watch from start to finish, thanks largely in part to Torres and Swinton and the amount of energy and hilarious charisma they bring to each scene.
Isn’t it amazing how failures can often lead to unexpected successes? Those missteps frequently have a way of opening meaningful doors, even if it doesn’t seem that way at the time they occur. But how readily are we aware that such developments can occur? Such is the whirlwind experience of Alejandro Martinez (Julio Torres), a young, idealistic, inventive Salvadoran toy designer who emigrates to New York in search of a job in an incubator program at a major American toy manufacturer. But, to apply for the position, he must be present stateside, which means he needs a work visa to reside here long enough to make his pitch. That possibility seems to evaporate, though, when he loses his job as a client curator at a cryogenics company. Fortunately, however, as he’s making his exit from the workplace, he meets and befriends a flamboyant art critic (Tilda Swinton) upset with the way the cryogenics company is handling the care of her late partner (RZA), an eccentric artist known for specializing in paintings of eggs. To raise funds for the painter’s curation, she wants to stage an exhibition of his work but needs help to pull it off, which is where Alejandro enters the picture. He volunteers to assist with staging the show in exchange for her sponsorship so that he can obtain a new work visa to stay in the US. It sounds like a simple, straightforward arrangement, but, as he soon finds out, that’s far from the case, as he launches into a wild and crazy odyssey filled with any number of outlandish personal and professional incidents, many of them ludicrous and comical yet surprisingly beneficial. This debut feature from actor-writer-director Torres tells an unconventional yet hilarious and insightful story of commitment, empowerment and imagination filled with colorful characters and enigmatic situations. Its clever production design, imaginative cinematography, and inclusion of surreal and symbolic sequences makes for an edgy yet entertaining watch, an impressive first offering from the former Saturday Night Live staff writer. While there are some instances where the narrative tends to become a little too outrageously self-satisfied for its own good, the bulk of the film stays on course and features an array of fine performances from Torres, Swinton and a host of supporting players. “Problemista” was originally scheduled for release in summer 2023 but was delayed by the SAG-AFTRA strike. However, as this delightfully quirky offering shows, the wait was indeed worth it, as it often is for those who encounter seemingly endless snafus on the way to achieving their greatness. If you’re fond of the irreverent, as I am, you’ll get a kick out of this one, an engaging tale that both enlightens and entertains while giving your mind a lot to play with.
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