Film Micrœview #838: Problemista

Rating: Good.

Wow. Julio Torres is a genius. This far exceeded my expectations. I was thinking I was going to get a Michel Gondry-like thing with Tilda phoning it in, and some Julio Torres-like jokes peppered around. But this is so much more. I laughed, I cried, I was horrified, I was exhilarated. Some moments tapped straight into my own experiences, others were completely wild and alien. So many magical visionary flourishes. Lots of Issey Miyake. The final confrontation works because you know these two have built up emotional trust. On one level it’s always about syncing the databases, but on another level this lady knows this kid sees her through all the batshit bonkery and cares and that’s more important. It doesn’t all just happen at once because this is the moment where a movie with this premise is supposed to announce that it’s made it to this part of the growing and changing process. Everything important was subtle and executed expertly and worked. I look forward to what Julio tries next.