Julio Torres' Visionary Problemista

After a delay in release due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, comedian Julio Torres’ directorial debut Problemista will finally be unleashed into the world on March 1, with a wider release on March 22.

Torres is the otherworldly genius behind the HBO series Los Espookys, comedy special My Favorite Shapes, and some of the most bewilderingly funny skits on Saturday Night Live. His brand of queer surrealistic artistry is intelligent yet unpretentious, expansive yet self-contained, aware of the machinations and systems of the human world yet reasonably critical of them. Problemista is the exact kind of movie you’d expect from a once-in-a-generation creator like Torres, in that it is entirely unexpected, undefined by genre, and significantly singular.

Torres not only wrote and directed Problemista but also stars as Alejandro—a wildly imaginative and perceptive young man who has immigrated from El Salvador to New York City in the hopes of becoming a toy designer. Alejandro’s ideas are intricate, convoluted, and likely beyond the creative capabilities of any toy company, but his mother, Dolores (Catalina Saavedra), is a fellow artist who sees Alejandro’s potential and cheers him on from thousands of miles away.

When Alejandro loses his job at an experimental cryogenic human preservation center, he must find a new sponsor before his work visa expires. Alejandro’s odyssey through the unforgiving hellscape that is the U.S. immigration system forces him to traverse treacherous territories and endure strange horrors including Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton)—an eccentric art world outcast who may just be his greatest hope for staying in the states. 

Elizabeth is the antithesis to a high class, well-esteemed, Miranda Priestly-esque New York City celebutante. Her keen sense of fashion comes with an anxious, aggravated energy, a laundry list of enemies, and a purse bursting at the seams with tangled cords and empty plastic water bottles. Elizabeth’s demands are insatiable and seemingly impossible to meet, but Alejandro’s patience with her softens her and makes her feel appreciated for the first time since she lost her lover, Bobby (RZA), a painter whose works depict various perspectives of eggs. If Alejandro can help her set up a show for Bobby’s artwork, then Elizabeth promises to sponsor him—it’s just a matter of getting Elizabeth to focus.

The immense obstacles that Alejandro encounters through his struggle to stay afloat are visualized in absurd, inventive ways that only Torres could envision. From the geometrically chic playscapes of Alejandro’s childhood to cosmic conferences with a personified Craigslist demon (played by Larry Owens) and the mind-numbing minutiae of bureaucracy appropriately cast as one of the antagonists, Problemista is a refreshingly odd and resonant story about the pursuit of the American dream. Torres mythologizes the terror-filled tedium of adulthood and the stressful process of immigrating to America—only slightly exaggerating the stakes and complications that these things entail. 

Problemista makes some of life’s most perplexing and ambiguous feelings tangible. Even an abrasive, challenging character like Elizabeth ends up being sympathetic. Elizabeth’s aggressive erraticism has the potential to be triggering to those of us who have worked under similar tyrants, but Problemista does the impossible task of humanizing this archetype. Alejandro’s unassertive demeanor juxtaposed against Elizabeth’s deafening confidence makes for a frenetic dynamic that allows both performers to shine. Swinton possesses an inherent humor, but she’s so often cast as stoic, unknowable mysteries that are not permitted to be funny—and in Problemista she was both of these things and more.

The rest of the cast is equally multi-faceted and talented, with cameos from Greta Lee, Greta Titleman, James Scully, Laith Nakli, River Ramirez, Megan Stalter, and Isabella Rossellini as the narrator. Each of these supporting characters are given an attention to detail that not only makes them more compelling to watch, but also seem believable—even in an outlandish film like this one.

Problemista’s vision of America is thorny and its perception of success is understandably muddied. Alejandro’s quest through our society’s dumbest, most infuriating rules and regulations manifests into a fantastical fairytale of a hero’s journey—the likes of which our mortal eyes have never been exposed to. Torres’ mind is a deep well of creativity, and it takes an authentic weirdo like himself to make this very specific story so universal and accessible.

Problemista is deeply funny and true, no matter how bizarre its storytelling methods may be. It is inspiring to see an auteur like Torres craft art that is so joyous and peculiar. Problemista is a homegrown tale with out-of-this-world perspective that sees beyond the limits of the typical success story, and might just speak to your ambitions as well.