It’s no secret that obtaining a visa in the United States is a bureaucratic nightmare. The entire process is often recounted as a strenuous uphill battle where all odds are against you. A24’s latest film from writer, director and actor Julio Torres leans into the absurdity of this punishing system through deadpan humor, magical surrealism and eccentric storytelling that illuminates the immigrant experience in New York City. “Problemista” puts the entire process into perspective for many audience members who will never know the nightmarish hurdles faced by immigrants in the United States.
The film follows Alejandro, played by the debut director, a young man originally from El Salvador who leaves the comfortable life his mother (Catalina Saavedra) created for him in favor of a career as a toy designer in “the most competitive city in the world.” Dreaming of one day working for Hasbro, Alejandro struggles to make ends meet by working at a cryogenics facility for artists, where he meets Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), the widow of the artist he is assigned to. Elizabeth, an insufferable and abrasive outcast of the art world, takes an interest in Alejandro, and they set off on a journey to curate a show for her late husband’s work with the hope that she will sponsor his visa.
Torres’ debut feature combines his love for design, toys and surrealism with his lived experiences in the cutthroat art world and the U.S. immigration system. Alejandro’s efforts to scrape by in New York City by selling hair salon packages, answering Craigslist ads and working for an overbearing art critic are taken directly from Torres’ own experiences with trying to obtain a visa. Living in a crummy Bushwick apartment and subletting his bedroom to a stranger to cover rent are some of the grueling and demoralizing circumstances that crept from Torres’ life into Alejandro’s.
The film’s visual representations of the visa process and the immigrant experience are its strongest and most imaginative moments. A drab and never-ending office cubicle that Alejandro climbs through on an endless loop cleverly represents the bureaucratic mazes immigrants have to navigate during the visa process. Another striking visual shows Alejandro seeing people disappear in an immigration office — later on, while he’s fruitlessly selling hair salon packages, a woman walks through him. These depictions of the race against the clock to avoid disappearing reflect the loneliness and urgency of trying to obtain a visa.
On the other hand, one of the film’s weaker points is the strength of the connection between Alejandro and Elizabeth. The attempted redemption of Elizabeth falls flat within the context of the rest of the story. Elizabeth’s interest in Alejandro establishes the pair as unlikely companions, his meek disposition contrasting with her severe one.
However, the connection between the characters and their respective arcs felt rather weak. Swinton’s character was ultimately not as sympathetic as she was perhaps intended to be, despite being a widow on the fringes of the art world. While it’s true that they are both outcasts in their respective circumstances — Elizabeth in the art gallery world and Alejandro in the United States — the screaming at servers over walnuts in salads makes it impossible for Elizabeth to be a sympathetic character, especially as Alejandro is genuinely struggling. However, despite her relentless abrasion, Elizabeth teaches Alejandro to unapologetically take up space in a country that doesn’t want to make space for him, which is the strongest aspect of their relationship.
Above all else, “Problemista” sheds light on the people in New York City facing the same race against time, the same impossible mazes and insurmountable mountains as Alejandro does. It’s easy to see right through the many migrants in New York as they sell hair salon packages in the street or churros on the train. In a country and world where the numbers of immigrants are increasingly amplified and scrutinized, the film is a humanizing force that ascribes concrete stories to the identities we’re continually surrounded by. Torres’ debut feature prompts empathy without sermonizing, but with a delightfully deadpan and surreal tone that will make audiences laugh, cry and see the city with a more human eye.
Contact Lulu Chatterjee at [email protected].
