A scene from ‘Fantasmas’ | Photo Credit: HBO
Julio Torres’ creative ventures are as easy to recognize as they are difficult to replicate. Unabashedly self-indulgent, Torres’ previous work – Los Espookys (2019), problemist (2023) — is marked by embracing the strange, the bizarre, and the culturally alien. His latest HBO show takes on a highly ambitious scale, where viewers see New York through Torres’ eyes. Piecing together the sketches, Torres borrows from his experience as an artist snl to give the author a comforting fever dream Fantasmas.
In Fantasmas, Torres plays Julio, an aspiring writer and actor.Joe struggles with systemic problems of housing and healthcare. The only solution he finds to his impending eviction and a suspicious-looking mole is a lost oyster-shaped golden earring. For a variety of reasons as the show progresses, Julio must find the earring to make everything all right. As he travels around the Big Apple in search, he meets a group of New Yorkers whose own quirks color his life.
A scene from ‘Fantasmas’ | Photo Credit: HBO
It begins with a family sitcom that Julio is watching in his cab. In this show within a show, Paul Dano is a suburban dad who invites a lost alien to stay with his family… before abandoning them for the cute alien. It’s one of several vignette-style stories that stop during Julio’s search for the earring. Julia Fox as Mrs. Claus testifies against an elf (played by Bowen Yang) who is suing Santa, while Emma Stone (who also serves as an executive producer) later appears in the episode “The Last of Us”. Fantasmas), stars in a reality show about rich New York housewives. Meanwhile, Julio said in his statement that he can “feel the inner life of shapes, colors, sounds, numbers and letters.”
Fantasmas (English)
Creators: Julio Torres
Mould: Julio Torres, Martin Gutierrez, Tomas Matos, Joe Ramirel, and others
Episodes: 6
Order: 25-30 minutes
StoryAs Julio Torres travels through New York City in search of his lost earring, he encounters a variety of people, each with different stories to tell.
A question like ‘Does the letter Q come very first in the alphabet?’ might seem a little absurd at first glance, but Steve Buscemi’s acting as the identity-crisis ‘Q’ makes these concerns go away. In fact, this is one of the strongest points of Torres as a creative, who has written and directed all six episodes. Torres’ writing balances his creative vision, as well as a balanced way of realizing it. As Dylan O’Brien and Aidy Bryant join the long list of star cameos for the show, Torres makes sure that each adds extra value. The many sketches showcasing these actors keep you entertained, and can even annoy at times, but they are never too long or heavy to distract from the tightly written main script. Torres’ writing finds time and space for all the different elements, even the letter ‘Q’!
A scene from ‘Fantasmas’ | Photo Credit: HBO
The show’s production design enhances this sense of existing in an artificiality, in an impossible reality where a goldfish has a human secretary. Cinematographer Sam Levy takes advantage of the fact that the show is shot entirely on a soundstage, and contributes to its advantage Fantasmas’ A dreamlike quality. The camera frequently zooms out from the elaborate set to show its bare bones, and Julio enters the scene through a fake door. Meanwhile, everything we know and understand about New York comes through blurry projections on the screen, which the actors barely bump into.
Still, it doesn’t reveal everything Fantasmas The core of Julio’s struggles still lies in housing and healthcare, and he focuses on such aspects in his sketches as well.
Overall, the existence of Julio Torres Fantasmas This feels like a miracle in the current television landscape. It’s rare to see something retain so much of its individuality, as does the creative voice of Julio Torres. Fantasmas It might not be to everyone’s liking, but it creates a storm that can’t be ignored.
All episodes of Fantasmas are currently streaming on JioCinema
