Or how I learned to stop worrying and love my inner Karen

I entered problem child I had a clear idea of ​​what I thought I was getting. The trailer offers a surrealistic depiction of the American immigrant experience, with dreamy pops of color, failed visa applicants disappearing on the spot, and the terrifying Tilda Swinton with her occasionally glowing red eyes. It’s a package of weirdness, comedy and commentary that A24’s marketing department is good at turning into an easy-to-swallow pill, as if reaching some kind of uniqueness is now familiar . People may even walk away thinking their expectations have been met.

Directed by Julio Torres, The Problem is a comedy about an eccentric toy inventor, Alejandro, who tries to make a name for himself in New York but fails to bring his creations to life. When his work visa is about to expire, he takes a job working for an outcast in New York’s art scene in order to navigate the complex immigration system and remain in the United States.

Strong Points

• Visually and comedically interesting
• Create balanced and complex characters
• A compelling exploration of the value of art
• A surrealist critique of the US immigration system based on empathy

problem child Just wear that movie like a coat. Julio Torres (writer, director, and star) uses familiarity to make his films approachable. But I’d wager that his stance on movies today is similar to how protagonist Alejandro views toys. “Great, but”Hey, umm… I’m too caught up in the fun stuff.“Alejandro’s idea was to make small but meaningful tweaks to ready-made toys to force a change in our perspective on them, and Torres’ film takes the same approach. This is in a sense a mode of surrealism, but as such works are usually, this is mind-expanding and targets the mind.

Problemistas criticize the system, but the real point is in the characters.

Elizabeth, played by Tilda Swinton, is much more attractive than she initially appears.

If Kafka’s main drivers are empathy and optimism, Alejandro’s journey to visa sponsorship is Kafkaesque. Initially, he works for a company that provides cryogenic services only to terminally ill artists (as one of my favorite ways he does). The technology to wake them up hasn’t been invented yet (legally, their service is a form of euthanasia), but their business model allows them to keep their cryotubes powered and stored. You can continue to charge fees. When Ale lost his job, he had just one month to find a new sponsor. Somewhere an hourglass with his name engraved on it is tipped over.

Hope arrives in the form of Elizabeth (Swinton), an art critic and wife of Bobby (RZA), the frozen artist Ale was supervising. It is a fragile and difficult hope. She is disorganized, demanding, and tends to lash out at pathetic and unsuspecting representatives of the beings who have provoked her anger. In modern terms, she’s a Karen. In the film’s visual language, she is a monster hiding in the cave that Alejandro’s wandering hero is forced to enter. But if Ale can arrange an exhibition of paintings focusing on Bobby’s eggs, she might sponsor his visa.

There is a version of problem child U.S. policy forces Alejandro to rely on the whims of fickle individuals, while Elizabeth becomes a weapon of political criticism. This is part of who she is, but she is much more than that in that a real human being cannot be reduced to the role she plays in someone else’s life. Swinton’s performance captures the messy emotional vortex that motivates her actions without being purely sympathetic. Our position on her can oscillate between condemnation and support within a single scene. She is not bound to her own characterization within the storybook framework of her films.

Like Ale, Torres immediately understands her wholeness. This is the magic his films achieve. Despite its success in lampooning immigration laws, thoughtless and predatory corporations, and even Craigslist (Larry Owens); There are clear differences between these systems and the humans that exist within them.. The surreal imagery and narration (Isabella Rossellini is supposed to narrate everything) only make this contrast clearer. problem child It evokes the simplicity of mythology without simplifying the characters. Representatives are not just representatives; they are people with their own thoughts and values.

Problemista makes a convincing case for the value of art.

And what kind of skills do you want from a manager?

This unwillingness to be reductive lends critical nuance, conveying the absurdity of immigration to the United States while also leaving space for assessing how immigrants are made stronger in the face of those obstacles. I’m leaving it. But Elizabeth’s way of navigating the world emerges as a surprising focal point. Yes, we sympathize with the people she verbally berates over issues for which they are (usually) not responsible. But the movie suggests there is a method to her madness. The system may be to blame, but the system has no face. Chatbots and automated telephone services do not accept our complaints. When you find people, you find hope for change.

This is somewhat paradoxical, but problem childA great message for the disenfranchised: embrace your inner Karen. It may be unreasonable to expect everything to follow your whims. There is room for more empathy than Elizabeth’s blatant hostility. But if everything is being manipulated against you and you’re really determined to make it work anyway, find someone with the power to change things and complain until they do. If you do it right, you might even be able to change things to make the road easier for those coming after you.

related

All A24 horror movies ranked from worst to best

A24 horror films redefined the genre with the studio’s hits like Midsommar, X, and Hereditary. A24 We’ve ranked all the horror movies.

Whether everyone who sees this film will appreciate its demographic and hear its message is another matter, and one that Torres is interested in as well. The art and artists are all over. problem childEspecially underrepresented people, and there’s a direct line between their tenacity and the tenacity of immigrants. In both cases, you run a high risk of not being seen. However, Dolores (Catalina Saavedra), the artist’s mother at Yale, ultimately says: Is it someone’s art? intention Being judged is less important than being true can Get used to it. Even criticism as an act of true seeing can get some love here.

Pulling that thread reveals the organizing principles of this project. Obstacles are good for us as long as we can overcome them. Without them, we may never learn to see beyond the walls of our comfortable, familiar lives. And they don’t have to emerge from a series of life-or-death Catch-22s. art It can be a hindrance.Some people, maybe most people, like Bobby’s Eggs or Ale Toys or problem child. But someone will. And there is hope that if they can see that artwork in a holistic and empathetic way, they can also extend that gaze to the invisible people around them.