A24's new surreal comedy problem child The film depicts the misfortunes of Alejandro, a young immigrant who leaves his idyllic life in El Salvador to live on the mean streets of New York City. There, he dreams of joining Hasbro as a toy designer and is full of ideas for quirky playthings. As Alejandro moves from job to job in search of a work visa and the American dream, he finds himself in a far more mysterious and strange world: the New York art scene.
Or at least its periphery. The film was written, directed, and starred by comedian Julio Torres. tonight show and saturday night live (There he created something wonderfully strange.)papyrus”Comte)and helped the mastermind los espokies. His first feature film, he told me over Zoom, was born as much from his own experience navigating the U.S. immigration system as from his time working in work that “touched the fringes” of the art world.
“I was an assistant to various people in the art world and worked in museums and galleries. I was just able to observe that world without actually being a part of it.” he said. “In the end, it turned out to be very beneficial to the film.”
These observations come to the fore in the character of Elizabeth, a highly eccentric art critic who promises to sponsor her visa if Alejandro serves as her assistant. It's a harder job than it seems. Elizabeth is trying to put on an exhibition of her late husband Bobby's (played by RZA) artwork, and she wants to put on a show with “Pace, Gagosian, maybe Whitney.” She sends Alejandro on a trail of canvases—which, mind you, are not entirely Pace, Gagosian, or Whitney material.
The incomparable Tilda Swinton plays Elizabeth with chaotic, hectic energy as she becomes increasingly desperate to secure Bobby's inheritance. Her red hair is uncombed, her mascara smudges, and her iPhone flashlight is inexplicably always on. One character describes her as a “monster.” Mr. Torres prefers “wild animals.” But Swinton injects compassion into her portrayal, giving the woman sympathy for her grief as well as her desperation for recognition from the art world.
“What I kept observing in the art world was that people in jobs that deal with beauty are always so upset. Why? What are you so upset about? Mr. Torres explained. “That's because some of these jobs are very closely guarded. People on one side of the fence are upset, and people on the other side are on the other side of the fence.'' There's a class of people who are upset that they can't do that.”
“When you look at Elizabeth, it's not about who she is, it's about who she's trying to become,” he added.
In the production notes accompanying the film, Swinton similarly described Elizabeth as “inherently unhappy” and said, “She's leaning towards windmills. She's set herself this ridiculous task.” breaks my heart.”
Elizabeth certainly has a difficult task selling the show after Bobby's death. After all, her husband was a painter who was particularly obsessed with his one subject: eggs. His realistic portraits of eggs were so prolific, one against a blue sky, one resting on a gingham tablecloth, and one teetering in the abyss, that his The title of the exhibition is “13 Eggs''. This is not the kind of work that New York galleries are coveting, and that gets to the heart of Bobby, Torres said.
“In Bobby's case, you know he's an outsider and the art world is rejecting him, but he won't give in,” he said. “In a conversation with RZA, we said, 'At one point someone told Bobby he could make a lot of money if he painted one thing that wasn't eggs, and Bobby said no. That's the kind of guy he is. To be an artist is to have a voice, ambition, and the dignity to choose the most difficult path.”
The egg still life was created by production designer Katie Byron, who commissioned a satin-like oil painting to Torres' specifications. But he admitted that his own artistic tastes lean toward expressionism, or “looking at life from a different perspective.” He admires the works of Egon Schiele and Kandinsky, and is particularly drawn to German Expressionism. “There's a sense of gloom and existential dread that feels very 'immigrant,'” he joked.
Even the artists he involved in his films – Justin Liam O'Brien, problem childJohnny Negron, who is designing the credit sequence for “The Movie'' and the movie's poster, leans toward surreal yet gentle compositions.
Another artist appears in this film. Alejandro's mother, Dolores (Catalina Saavedra, rot in the sun fame), a person who dreams of highly architectural sculptures. One of her pieces, a colorful, geometric theater, is brought to life for her young son at the beginning of the film. This, like the New York edition, approaches Torres' life. He was raised in El Salvador by his civil engineer father and architect mother. His mother also shared his love for Kandinsky, and would build elaborate cardboard dollhouses with him.
“This is kind of an exaggerated version of what we used to do,” he said of the movie's opening playground, which was designed by his own mother. “For example, what if she had the power to do these insane big things?”
Torres said that imbuing Dolores with an artistic temperament provided context for Alejandro's journey. Like the art world figures he meets along her journey, she “has a vision and something to say.” And perhaps, Torres says, her own artistic pursuits are being held back to give her son room to realize his dreams. “Like a lot of the characters in the movie.”
“I am very interested in humanizing people who go through difficult lives by showing that in art they can be stubborn. It’s not just about that,” he added.
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