The Big Picture

• Alejandro's dream of becoming a toy maker for Hasbro in Problemista mirrors Torres' unique humor - whimsical yet relatable.
• Tilda Swinton's portrayal of Elizabeth in Problemista defies caricature, showing empathy in difficult circumstances.
• Problemista is a visually inventive film that balances humor with heart, highlighting the struggles of immigrants in the US.

In his hilarious comedy special, My Favorite Shapes, Julio Torres sat in front of a conveyor belt that would bring him small trinkets that he would comment on. Early on, Torres says, “I have often been called ‘too niche,’” and as Torres puts a small crystal on a tiny chair, he states, “to which I say, ‘I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about.’” It’s a perfect encapsulation of Torres’ humor: a singular viewpoint that’s so unusual, but so pointed in its approach that his jokes are inherently funny. It’s this sense of humor that allowed him to co-create the Spanish-language HBO comedy, Los Espookys, and write some of the oddest bits in recent memory on Saturday Night Live, like “Wells for Boys,” a commercial for a Fisher-Price well that sensitive boys could sit and ponder their lives next to, and the brilliant “Papyrus” sketch, where Ryan Gosling obsesses over the font used in the Avatar movies.

With his directorial debut, Problemista, Torres has taken his style that can often be considered “too niche,” and found a way to utilize that to explore deeper, relatable issues in a film that doesn’t skimp on the strangeness of the humor. Problemista is still deeply weird, and in the ways that Torres fans will immediately relate to his singular vision, but among the offbeat toys, fantastical worlds, and wild cameos, Torres’ first film is also discussing aspects of the gig economy culture, the difficulty of following your dreams, and the endless struggle that it takes to be an immigrant in the United States. Problemista is bizarre yet immensely accessible and sympathetic, and a film that makes Torres an exciting filmmaker to watch.

What Is 'Problemista' About?

Problemista begins by stating that Alejandro (Torres) is a dreamer. Back in El Salvador, his mother Dolores (Catalina Saavedra) tried to shelter her son, turning his dreams into a reality—as we see a young Ale describing a playhouse for himself, which his architect mother builds for him. Ale wished for everything and she gave him everything. As an adult, Alejandro’s dream is to become a toy maker working for Hasbro, creating such ideas as a truck with deflating tires to remind kids that all things are fleeting, and a Slinky that refuses to go downstairs. To even apply to work at Hasbro, he had to come to New York City (the website application doesn’t allow for applicants outside the U.S.), where he works at FreezeCorp—which puts people into cryogenic sleep…they just hope that one day they can figure out how to wake these people up.

One day, Alejandro gets fired for a mistake made with the tank of Bobby (RZA), an artist and teacher who exclusively painted pictures of eggs. Without a job and someone to sponsor him in the U.S., Alejandro is in danger of getting kicked out of the country in 30 days. Thankfully(?), he meets Bobby’s wife, Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an art critic whom Bobby used to call the Hydra: whenever you fix one problem with her, several others sprout up. Elizabeth is loud, frustrating, demanding of everyone she meets, and yet…she’s Alejandro’s best option for staying in the country. Alejandro agrees to help Elizabeth (with no pay) in her quest to give Bobby an art show of his egg work, with the vague promise that she will sponsor him at the end of their ordeal.

Problemista sets Alejandro on what is called an unmanageable maze, where he cannot have a job, but must pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to stay in the country, while also attempting to survive in New York City, get a sponsor, and do all of this within a month. It’s a system that is impossible to manage without cheating or finding loopholes, and as we see in the film, whenever someone meets their 30 days without meeting these qualifications, they fade away, as if they never existed. This scenario gives Problemista a ticking clock that Alejandro is fighting against and a sense of urgency, but also hits on the all too real reality of how the system is no friend to those trying to stay in the country.

'Problemista' Shows Empathy to Its Characters, Especially Through Tilda Swinton's Elizabeth

But Problemista, also written by Torres, makes the systems that keep people down the true antagonist. This is especially important in how Torres writes these characters, showing that there’s more to everyone than they might originally seem, and that everyone is stuck in their own difficult, singular circumstances that deserve empathy. Nowhere is this more key than in the seemingly absurd character of Elizabeth. Swinton goes all-in with a character that is always at 11, making herself the center of everything and complaining until she gets her way. With her bright red hair and green jacket, Elizabeth seems like she could be a reference to Denis Lavant’s Mr. Merde from Holy Motors—an unpredictable, eccentric character who is almost terrifying in his actions, much like Elizabeth. For much of Problemista, it’s hard to understand why Alejandro would put up with her, even in his desperation.

Yet Problemista takes the time to understand this character who could’ve easily been a Karen to the extreme and little else. The bond between her and Ale is actually quite lovely, as he often knows how to calm her down and get at what she needs amongst all the complaints, and as we see more of her relationship with her cryogenically-frozen husband, we see a person who has been lost without her love, and desperate to do his legacy justice. Between her struggles with money and the complications of the art world, she too is stuck in systems that she no more can control than Alejandro can. Torres’ film never makes her seem justified in acting the way she does, but does find a way to get us to care about her. In one of Problemista’s loveliest scenes, Ale saves an unexpectedly kind voicemail message from Elizabeth, and we see the joy the simple notification “message saved” brings to her. Life is a struggle no matter who you are, and Torres’ film highlights that truth beautifully, through this delightfully off-the-wall performance by Swinton.

This is also a visually inventive film from Torres, whether it’s in showing his childhood play set, visualizing the complex maze that Alejandro has to manage, or turning Craigslist into a monstrous pit of despair, played by Abbott Elementary’s Larry Owens. When the conflicts between Alejandro and Elizabeth get to be too much, Ale imagines Elizabeth is a literal hydra that he has to slay as a knight in a dark cave—complete with the two stars in Halloween-like costumes. Or whenever Alejandro comes up with a new toy idea, we get to see his concept come to life, which once again reminds of his work on My Favorite Shapes. Torres never goes overboard though, even in a prologue that might seem a bit too much, and always makes sure that his style never overwhelms the simple cores of what makes this film work: Alejandro’s quest to stay in America, and his bond with Elizabeth.

Problemista is a natural, wonderful evolution of Torres’ brand of comedy. It never waters down his voice as a comedian as it expands into a fascinating world that hits on the heartbreaking struggles of our own. At first, Problemista might seem like it's an amalgamation of Torres' comedy ideas thrown together, but in the end, the film becomes a remarkably layered look at what it takes to make one's dream come true, and how much more difficult that is to do as an immigrant. 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 is now available to stream on VOD in the U.S.

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