Problemista is so far the year’s most surrealist and one of the funniest movies. Directed and starring Julio Torres in his directorial debut, it also features Tilda Swinton, RZA, and Greta Lee. Although the story of a toy designer from El Salvador working with an odd art reviewer sounds like an odd premise off the bat, the movie delivers in strides.
Although this is their directorial debut, Julio Torres has been writing for the likes of SNL along with creating his own show Los Espookys for HBO. That talent is not lost here, as his comedy shines through the best parts of the movie. One of the best running jokes of this movie is how Tilda Swinton’s character Elizabeth has her phone flashlight on in every single scene of the movie, only noticing it in the last scene. Scenes and jokes like this help the movie shine all throughout the movie, elevating the sulleralist nature of it. Another main joke throughout the movie is how RZA, the cryogenically frozen husband of Elizabeth, spent his entire career painting just eggs. Again, these jokes throughout the movie let the movie shine with oddity.
Although Julio Torres plays the main character of Alejandro, no one in this movie shines more than Tilda Swinton. Her performance as an entitled art critic who does not take no for an answer is constantly the best part of a scene, with her earning the title of “the hydra” for a strong, ruthless, and attacking personality. Throughout the movie, she yells and attacks and asks questions later while making a path of enemies in her way. This can be seen as she tries to get an exhibition for her frozen husband and all of the galleries either deny her or won’t even answer. However, by the end, she learns to calm down through her friendship with Alejandro.
Although the movie is consistently funny, the real heart of this movie is how it shows being creative. Throughout the movie we see Alejandro writing toy ideas down in his notebook and submitting a job application to the company Hasbro. By the middle of the movie, it is shown that the company has stolen his idea and used it to great success. Although at first he is apprehensive about confronting them, by the end of the movie he does and succeeds in getting a permanent job there. The creative process is at the heart of this movie and shines through the whole movie. Although the movie is a short 98 minutes, it is worth every minute. Between being constantly funny and charming, the movie never fails to bring joy to the screen.