Preston Barta // Features Editor
PROBLEMISTA
Not rated, 98 min.
Director: Julio Torres
Cast: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA, James Scully, Catalina Saavedra, Greta Lee, Larry Owens, Laith Nakli and Isabella Rossellini (narrator)
Usually, when it comes to explaining a film to someone, you have the basic framework to set it up, like: “It’s a romantic comedy about two people from different walks of life who…” or “It’s a mind-invading horror movie about a malicious entity that…”
Julio Torres’ Problemista is a work of art that’s floating in an atmosphere not of this world. It’s idea after idea and truth after truth that you cannot fit in a particular storytelling box. Torres (creator and writer of the HBO Max series of Los Espookys) puts his director’s hat on for the first time in impressive fashion. While he dangles a lot of weirdness out there that is sometimes difficult to latch onto, there’s no denying how unlike anything else it is.
Where else can you see an actor of Tilda Swinton’s caliber wearing a fabric dragon costume like she’s on the set of Sesame Street from hell, cracking jokes like “FileMaker Pro is the Cadillac of archival software?” And brace yourself for one of the decade’s greatest laughs involving a dream sequence that so perfectly captures the nonsensical overdraft policies of Bank of America.
Problemista is its own animal of comedic high jinks that will undoubtedly send your mind racing and itching out of beautiful perplexity. It’s quite possibly A24’s weirdest movie yet. (Just wait for the character Craigslist, played with unforgettable presence by Larry Owens.)
The film follows Alejandro (Torres), an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador. He has his sights set on Hasbro but needs to find the right “in” to capture the company’s interest. Because let’s face it, the public may not be ready for Alejandro’s funny, honest and sometimes disturbing pokes at society by way of deformed or nonfunctional toys. Unless your CEO is Tim Burton, but let’s see.
While Alejandro waits for the right opportunity to pounce, he needs a visa sponsor to stay in the states, specifically New York. The Big Apple seems like the ideal place to bring his unusual ideas, and he’s right because Alejandro makes an impression on erratic art-world outcast Elizabeth (a firecracker Swinton). Elizabeth’s lover, Bobby (RZA), an artist who paints pictures of eggs, is in a cryogenic sleep, waiting for a future that may better appreciate his work. (Think of the scene in Back to the Future when Marty jams a tune that’s too ahead of the 1950s.)
That’s just a taste of what continues to be a surreal adventure seemingly hatched from a mind somewhat equivalent to Charlie Kaufman or Michel Gondry. It’s just one trip after another, but they’re good trips if you exercise your brain to keep up with its otherworldliness. Even if the film winds up being soup cans to you, you’ll appreciate its humor. It’s all in the actor’s delivery. Swinton gets a good chunk of lines, as does Torres, who is very much the audience surrogate, commenting on the idiocy of what surrounds him like he’s a regular on Curb Your Enthusiasm. However, he’s not as brash as Larry David. Alejandro very slyly slips in his comments like an innocent puppy. It’s pure joy.
The same goes for the background lines of dialogue. One of Alejandro’s roommates will brilliantly combine R-rated humor with G-rated humor: “I didn’t eat your f**king Oreos, you f**king wiener.” The pillow-stitch-worthy quotes hit like a firehouse.
In addition to the dialogue and wacky performances, there are colorful aesthetics. Even the garbage accumulating in a street puddle has an artistic placement and look. It’s beautiful take in, and it warrants multiple viewings. Take special notice of Elizabeth’s clothing, which is somewhere between The Flintstones and the singer Sia. It’s amazing.
In all, Problemista is a laugh-out-loud metaphysical treat. Torres isn’t an artist wanting to add to the sea but rather wanting to skip his bold creations across it. So, love it or lose your mind to it — enjoy!
Grade: B
Problemista held its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on Mar. 13. A24 will release the film later this year.
