The film stars Tilda Swinton, Torres, RZA, Greta Lee, Catalina Saavedra, James Scully, and Isabella Rossellini.

However, Dolores worries about Alejandro and is haunted by a recurring dream in which he ventures into a mysterious cave with a monster inside, symbolizing his journey into the unknown—something she has tried to protect him from.

He applies to Hasbro's internship program, submitting creative ideas such as a Barbie with crossed fingers behind her back and his personal favorite, Cabbage Patch Kids with smartphones.

Left with few options, Alejandro takes a job as an archivist at FreezeCorp, a company that cryogenically freezes people despite lacking the technology to do so.

Alejandro is tasked with monitoring the frozen body of the artist Bobby, known for his large-scale egg portraits, who froze himself for future success.

Alejandro is escorted out by a receptionist and encounters Bobby’s eccentric wife, Elizabeth, who struggles with FreezeCorp’s repeated fee increases.

However, immigration restrictions prevent him from earning payment without a sponsor, forcing him to take cash-based, precarious jobs found on an embodied Craigslist to cover the high visa fees.

Alejandro is offered a job as a paralegal and Spanish translator at the immigration office but turns it down once he learns that he has secured a solo show for Bobby at a Roosevelt Island gallery.

However, Alejandro stands up to her in a dream-like battle between dragon and knight, making her realize that they both share the same ambition and devotion to art, while Bingham does not care about Bobby's legacy.

Thus his creations are as follows: In July 2021, it was announced that Tilda Swinton would star in the film and Julio Torres would costar in and direct it, from a screenplay he wrote, with A24 set to finance and distribute.

The website's critics consensus reads: "With Problemista, Julio Torres' utterly unique sensibilities prove a perfectly cracked lens through which to find the surreal humor in bleak aspects of the human experience.

[15] The New York Times considered Problemista a fantastically and visually extravagant exploration of systemic inequality, with Julio Torres's signature eccentricity balanced by a newfound willingness to tell a relatable story.

Tilda Swinton’s portrayal of Elizabeth, a venomous and domineering art critic, was highlighted as a standout performance, described as both frightful and mesmerizing.

The review lauded the film's ability to juxtapose playful absurdity with the harsh realities of bureaucracy and economic precarity, ultimately framing Elizabeth's rejection of impersonal modern systems as a rebellious, albeit overwhelming, battle cry.

The review highlighted the film’s surreal humor, comparing it to Terry Gilliam’s work, while addressing serious themes like the “dystopian power dynamics”[17] between employers and immigrant workers.

NPR included Problemista on its list of the best movies and TV of 2024, with critic Glen Weldon writing, "The comedy targets are broad – institutions like banks, credit card companies, and the U.S. immigration system – but the jokes themselves are precise and perfect".