Julio Torres is truthfully one of the funniest comedians working today. His television series, Los Espookys, was short lived but iconic, a hilarious and sweet ode to horror lovers everywhere. His first feature film follow-up, immigration comedy Problemista, doesn’t miss, and his witty, charming whimsy feels as ingenious as ever.
Torres leads the film as Alejandro, a Salvadorian immigrant who dreams of getting into toy manufacturer Hasbro’s talent incubator program. Instead, he gets stuck working for an erratic art critic, Elizabeth (Swinton), who’s trying to find a large amount of money on a tight deadline so the company that has her husband’s frozen body doesn’t stop let it defrost.
Torres mixes in everything that makes his specific brand of comedy unique into Problemista: Alejandro’s toy pitches are obscurely sassy, his imaginative use of CGI and costuming is fantastical, and his dry delivery is the perfect juxtaposition to the film’s outlandish absurdity.
Where Torres plays the heir to the Mexican version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate throne in Los Espookys, in Problemista Alejandro’s more akin to Hermey the misfit elf in the Rankin/Bass stop-motion classic, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” He’s the kid with a toy-related dream that doesn’t quite fit into the norm. On top of it, his immigration status being in flux is given literal form as visual metaphor: a brass hourglass kept in the basement of the immigration office, just one of many magical realist flourishes here.
This is where Elizabeth steps in as Alejandro’s potential sponsor and sort-of mentor. “Cantankerous” doesn’t begin to describe her: she’s is the kind of person who would complain to the waiter about someone else’s salad, just to complain. She’s a thorny dragon that Alejandro has to fight, but his patience and semi-admiration for her eventually soften her, creating an odd-couple of sorts whose bond is built on the mutual feeling of being an outcast. Elizabeth and Alejandro’s relationship works to a degree, but Swinton’s hard-pressed nature is a bit too prickly at times.
But that’s what makes Torres so profound. He doesn’t see the world in black and white or even shades of grey – he sees the colorful potential in everything. His kindness and fairy tale sensibilities are infectious. While Problemista might have some bumps, they are minor in the scheme of his enormous creativity.
A version of this review previously ran during SXSW Film 2023.
This article appears in March 22 • 2024.