PROBLEMISTA
A surreal comedy about an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador navigating the challenges of the New York art scene and the U.S. immigration system.
“Brilliant . . . [an] off-kilter triumph,” critic Zachary Barnes writes in The Wall Street Journal.
“Imaginative, impressive, not to mention hilarious,” Cat Cardenas writes in Slate.
“There is so much rich material in the absurdity: how immigrants and artists crave to be seen, how modern systems eat up people, how we try to cheat death and how technology doesn’t live up to its promise,” Mark Kennedy writes for The Associated Press.
The quirky comedy follows Alejandro (Julio Torres), a young toy designer from El Salvador trying to make his unique ideas come to life in New York City. His doll concepts, for instance, include a Barbie with her fingers crossed behind her back and Cabbage Patch Kids using smartphones.
While waiting to pursue his dreams at Hasbro, he works at a cryogenics facility for artists. His job is to watch over frozen artist Bobby (RZA), known for painting large portraits of eggs.
One day, Alejandro briefly unplugs Bobby’s machine by mistake and gets fired.
Now, he faces deportation unless he can find a sponsor for his work visa within 30 days.
Bobby’s widow, Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), is a rude, unforgiving art critic. Despite what Alejandro did to her husband, Elizabeth likes him and agrees to sponsor him if he can find a gallery to show her husband’s collection of egg paintings.
Alejandro soon realizes that Elizabeth is a “problemista,” someone who creates problems — the last thing he needs before his meeting with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The 2023 film, in English and occasional Spanish with English subtitles, runs 1 hour 44 minutes and is rated R. A trailer for the film can be found on YouTube at tinyurl.com/Problemista-MoviesWithSpirit.
The screening will be followed by a discussion. Refreshments will be served.
Attendees over age 12 are asked to contribute $10 a person.
Movies With Spirit screenings comply with all federal, state and local health and safety protocols, including those of the screening venues.
The monthly Movies With Spirit series, organized by Gerry Harrington of Kingston, seeks to stimulate joy and wonder, inspire love and compassion, and help people understand their connection with others and with life itself. It supports all cultures, faiths and beliefs while transcending them.
The films are shown in diverse places of worship and culture in Ulster and Dutchess counties at 7 p.m., usually on the third Saturday of every month. Movies With Spirit has no religious affiliation.
