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.
I paused this movie midway through, turned to Mickey, and said, “I feel the same way watching this that I did when we went to see Swiss Army Man. Whatever movie this writer/director makes next is gonna be a massive hit.”
I was right about Swiss Army Man, which was written and directed by The Daniels, who are now the Oscar-winning writers and directors of Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once.
I can’t wait to see what Julio Torres makes next. I’ve already added Fantasmas (his TV show, streaming on Max) to the top of my list.
From the instant this movie began, the energy was incredible. I’d watched an episode of Fantasmas as part of my Independent Spirit Awards voting, so I thought I knew what I was in for. I was expecting something highly absurd, with heart, but totally out there.
I got something with a massive amount of heart, a little bit absurd, and not at all out there.
I cried so many times watching this. The way Problemista depicted the immigration process was stunning. I’m a girl who needs a visual aid and Julio Torres did not disappoint. His imagery was simple, playful, and effective.
The imagery throughout the movie was vibrant and the dialogue matched. I’ve said it before, but character and strong dialogue will literally make a movie for me. I got more of both than I could have ever asked for,
I immediately fell for Alejandro and found myself rooting for him, sometimes to tears. Then there was Tilda Swinton, who, as always, was magical as hell, even though I wanted to punch her character often.
This review is messy, but I promise you the movie was not.
My favorite part of this movie is that it tackles a big topic like immigration with a fuck ton of humor. Normally, when you see this topic onscreen, it’s a heavy drama meant to teach a lesson or make you feel something.
Problemista makes you feel something, but you don’t feel preached to at all. At least, I didn’t. It perfectly captures the delicate balance between yearning for home (the phone calls with his mom were lovely) and the excitement of a new place, never belonging to either.
It’s more than a story of countries and paperwork – this is a human story. Nothing is romanticized or reduced to stereotypes.
You’re not manipluated into caring about an “immigrant story”.
You care about the character and want to see him succeed, immigrating is just one part of that.
A big part. A HUGE part.
So many people are fighting this fight right now. It’s not easy to immigrate legally. I’ve personally known folks working on it for over a decade now.
It’s nice to see this presented with humor and heart. So much heart.
I can’t wait to see what you get up to next, Julio.
