In the new film “Problemista,” writer, director and actor Julio Torres whimsically traverses the maze of the American dream through the U.S. immigration system. His character Alejandro desires to become a toy designer for Hasbro but must secure a sponsor though a work visa, he tells the Texas Standard.
“That story is told through a magical realism lens,” he says. For Torres, the whimsy and sparkles are essentially at his core.
“It’s completely my default,” he says. “I never really intend to have it be that way and that’s just the way it comes out. In fact, so many times I wanna write something that is so bare bones, easy, cheap and then stuff like this [“Problemista”] keeps happening.”
Courtesy of A24
Torres who, like his character in the film, is from El Salvador and likewise dealt with immigration visa issues on his road to become an artist, much like Alejandro. In the film, Torres’ character climbs through a staircase-like maze as he talks with an immigration lawyer about his visa status, depicting some of the catch-22s within the system.
However, despite the direness of the subject matter and high-stakes for the hero, Torres’ absurdist visuals and deadpan writing – coupled with Isabella Rossellini’s delightful narration – are meant to make audiences laugh and smile throughout.
“I mean it’s about being completely emotionally honest, right?,” Torres said. “ I never set out to make a tragic documentary about immigration and I am a very optimistic and unserious person. So that just felt emotionally true and that’s how it came out. That’s how I metabolized [my] experience.”
Torres said our own specific experience and viewpoints are numerous and if someone chose to make a film the virtual opposite of his on immigration, it would be equally as valid.
“Which is not to say that a glib, pessimistic, sad drama about immigration is not right if that is how the creators experienced it,” Torres said. “We all come from different circumstances. We all have been dealt different cards, and this is how I happen to use mine. But it just felt very honest to find the joy in it.”
Another emotionally honest point in the film is Alejandro’s relationship with Tilda Swinton’s character, Elizabeth – a fire-breathing monster of a person.
“[She] plays this manic, deranged, erratic art lady who is on a warpath with everyone. No waiter is safe, no customer representative escapes her. And she is the only one who has offered to sponsor my character with a work visa,” Torres said.
