Life can be horrifically intimidating. It can also be beautifully magical. Sometimes both at once. The indie comedy Problemista acknowledges this fact, mixing it with a little reality and a lot of surrealism. It is a strangely hopeful story about an immigrant with all the odds stacked against him, who believes that, if he just keeps pushing forward, he can achieve his unlikely goal.
Writer/director/star Julio Torres uses fantasy and whimsy to represent his protagonist’s mindset, offsetting the realism lurking below the surface. The reality of immigrants desperately attempting to get work so they can be sponsored and make enough money to stay in America is juxtaposed with the anything-is-possible imagination of a young man who won’t give up on his dreams. Quirkiness can become obnoxious if used incorrectly. Torres gets away with an abundance of quirkiness in his directorial debut due to his likability and the oddball charm of his storytelling approach.
Alejandro has come to the United States from El Salavador to work as a toy creator for Hasbro. Rejected by them, and faced with deportation if he is unable to find a sponsor, he gets a job at a cryogenics company, taking care of a frozen artist. When that goes awry, the artist’s wife, a short-tempered, paranoid, art critic takes a shine to Alejandro and promises him sponsorship if he helps her mount a show focused on her husband’s paintings.
Problemista (99 minutes, without the end credits) could have been a fairly routine comedy about the struggle for the American dream, from the eyes of an outsider. Torres gives it an almost fairy-tale tone, which serves to gently satirize the concept of being whatever you want to be. There is an unseen narrator (an enjoyable Isabella Rossellini), a life-affirming quest and a sense of magic in Alejandro’s imagination and determination.
There is something mysterious and nearly unreachable about the life he aspires to. He is the brave knight trying to save his kingdom, except, in this case, his “kingdom” is making toys at Hasbro. The dragon standing in the way is the difficulty of landing a job that will keep him in this country long enough to maybe get his foot in the door.
Though there is also another dragon, or, as she is referred to, a hydra. That is Elizabeth, the frustrating, emotionally unpredictable would-be savior who decides to take Alejandro under her wing. She is played by the always chameleonic Tilda Swinton as a woman whose only certainty is that the world is out to get her. She does genuinely seem to want to help Alejandro, yet she has a knack for making life much harder for anyone she comes across. She demands perfection on bizarre and unclear tasks.
One of Problemista’s biggest strengths is that, while Elizabeth is someone we would probably cross the street to avoid, she is not a monster. She is humanized in flashbacks to her relationship with her lover and in the sympathy she shows Alejandro when no one else seems to notice him.
That might be why he sticks with her long after most people would have bailed to find a different sponsor. Perhaps he sees a kinship in the way she fights for what she wants. Granted, he does it with intelligence and kindness where she uses with rage and insults. Their relationship could have been agonizing to watch unfold, but the performances, the hopefulness and some very amusing moments keep this surprisingly light. Torres’ style is reminiscent of Wes Anderson, with his own specific spin on material and tone. This is an entertaining little gem.
3¾ out of 5
Cast:
Julio Torres as Alejandro
Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth
RZA as Bobby
Isabella Rossellini as Narrator
Written/Directed by Julio Torres