Problemista (2023) Review!!

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.

My Take – Being an immigrant myself, I know how difficult new visa/ renewal procedures are. And realize the anxiety and stress that comes with it. However, according to thousands of experiences, nothing beats the red tape of U.S. immigration. Though known as the land of the dreams, it is surprising to know about the insane policies they have in place for immigrants who are simply trying to make it in America, far from the conditions of their own country.

Something which clearly stuck a nerve with producer/writer/director/star Julio Torres who details the process in fantastical fashion, while telling an unconventional yet hilarious and insightful story of empowerment and imagination filled with colorful characters and awkward situations.

Known for his works as a writer on Saturday Night Live (from 2016-2019) and as the co-creator/writer/star of the HBO series, Los Espookys (2018-2022), for his debut feature, Torres has managed to create one of the weirdest, chaotic, and unapologetic narratives that delivers intentional cringe as well as a hilarious satirical take on art and immigration.

Yes, it isn’t as an easy watch as the surrealism injected into the story can be off-putting to many, yet the chaotic and messy concoction works mainly as it is in the end about hard truths. Making this A24 release an ambitious feature film debut for a writer/director who is trying to break from the reality and conventions of the cinema landscape.

The story follows Alejandro (Julio Torres), a young aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, who immigrates to New York, all in the hopes of landing a place in the Hasbro incubator program. But, as to apply for the position, he must to be present stateside, for which he needs a work visa to reside here long enough to make his pitch.

While he faces automated rejection emails for his ideas to redesign new and odd versions of Barbie and the Cabbage Patch Kids, to keep things afloat, Alejandro picks up a job at FreezeCorp, a company which cryogenically freezes people in order to reawaken them in the future, despite not yet having the technology to do so.

With his job specifically being managing the frozen body of a semi-failed eccentric artist named Bobby (RZA) known for specializing in paintings of eggs. Only to lose the job due to a silly mistake.

Fortunately for him, as he’s making his exit from the workplace, he meets and befriends Bobby’s wife Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), a flamboyant and demanding art critic. Who in order to raise funds for the painter’s curation has been trying to stage an exhibition of his work. And if Alejandro helps help her organize, exhibit, and sell her husband’s art. In exchange, she might sponsor his work visa.

Though it sounds like a simple, straightforward arrangement, but, as he soon finds out that it is far from the case, Alejandro 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.

With the relationship between Elizabeth and Alejandro forming the center of the film, the film blooms with inventiveness, using magical realism with a clever, modern sensibility to tell the story of how Alejandro comes into his own. Here, director Torres uses the 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, acquiring a visa. And to depict the plight of immigrants he uses sand flowing through hourglasses to show the waiting process.

And in the best realization, representing just how hard it is to secure a work visa in this country, he finds himself in a never ending line of filing rooms stacked on top of one another, forever doomed to climb up, down, or diagonal just to get into a room that’s right next door.

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. Despite the magical realism of the film, I found it more relatable than other similar stories.

There’s nothing more real than calling the bank to ask about your negative balance only to get overdraft fees explained to you as though you were an infant. When he argues with Elizabeth over the quality of his assistant work, he dons the armor of a knight and faces off against an Elizabeth-shaped hydra.

We even see him resort to Craigslist to make money and finds himself lost in the cluttered lair of a Craigslist monster (Larry Owens) come to life. With the exploitative nature of these gigs never going unaddressed. But even if director Torres’ magical world is laden with obstacles and hardship, there’s always a ray of sunshine waiting to break through the clouds. Sure, at times it feels like Torres has taken on more than he can chew and the script could have used some smoothing out.

But for every bump in the road, there’s an inventive and welcome swerve. It’s the kind of film that hints at greater achievements to come, and we are eagerly on board to watch them unfold in years to come. No small feat for a first-time filmmaker, especially considering the number of ambitious socio-critical comedies that have tried and failed to pull off the same delicate balancing act.

Performance wise, Torres is an appealing, endearing presence, but it is Tilda Swinton who sinks her teeth into the role, brimming with quicksilver disdain and yawning vulnerability. The legendary actress brings a considerable layer of stature to Torres’ freshman effort and gives one of the absolute best turns of her entire career as she is chaotic, insane, yet, so engaging to observe.

In smaller roles, RZA, Catalina Saavedra, Larry Owens, James Scully, Laith Nakli and Greta Lee are decent. As the ever-present narrator, Isabella Rossellini provides the calm, thoughtful exposition that helps the viewers navigate this maze of odd events. On the whole, ‘Problemista’ is a surreal comedy drama that is both visually entertaining and thought-provoking.