Julio Torres' debut film Problemista breathes new life into the American dream

With his feature film directorial debut Problemista, comedian and actor Julio Torres makes the leap from TV star to movie star.

Torres, who is most known for his work as a writer on Saturday Night Live, his comedy special My Favorite Shapes, and the TV show he co-created Los Espookys, dives into the world of feature films with Problemista, which he wrote, directed, and stars in.

Problemista follows Alejandro (Torres) a whimsical young immigrant and toy designer from El Salvador who gets fired from his job and loses his work visa sponsor. He meets Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an eccentric and impossibly difficult art critic who asks for his help putting on a show of her late husband’s paintings, giving him new hope for his visa sponsorship.

The movie not only explores the impossible-to-navigate labyrinth of the American immigration system, but also shows a really touching relationship formed between Alejandro and Elizabeth, two people who seemingly love to make their own lives more difficult for themselves.

It’s a comedy, but Problemista will also make you cry for a multitude of reasons. Torres wonderfully taps into so many emotions, from the desire to be loved and the fear of being close to someone, to the dynamics of immigrant children and their parents in their home country, to the struggles of navigating the American Nightmare.

At the center of Problemista is the unlikely friendship and bond formed between Elizabeth and Alejandro. Elizabeth, known in the art world as “The Hydra” for her ability to come up with two new problems for each one someone solves, yells at everyone she meets and is always making impossible demands.

Alejandro is at one point straight up offered a job that he would excel at and that would sponsor his visa, but turns it down so he can keep working on the impossible activity of trying to make Elizabeth happy. The two are perfect for each other.

Torres is a hugely talented filmmaker with a great, unique voice and an important story to tell. His vision is perfectly suited for a surreal film like this. Little touches like Alejandro’s cartoon-like hair and walk, sprinkling pieces of art and clothing in the street trash everywhere, and brilliant ideas for off-kilter toys (like a Barbie with her fingers crossed behind her back or a Slinky that refuses to go down stairs “forcing the child to go on a journey of their own”) make the world of the film truly something that only Torres could make.

Torres also wrangles a terrific cast that includes not just him and Swinton (who is terrific as always), but also RZA, Catalina Saavedra, Torres’ boyfriend James Scully, Greta Lee, Megan Stalter, Spike Einbinder, and Isabella Rossellina as the narrator.