★★★1/2

The inventiveness alone makes All Sorts worthy of a viewing. This absurd, surrealist workplace comedy sets up shop largely inside a generic workspace called Data-Mart - a facility where data gets entered and files get filed and people go home. Mostly.

The film centers on Diego (Eli Vargas), a new hire who lives in his car and is hired by a vacuous boss named Vazquez (Luis Deveze). Data-Mart is a trip. The co-workers have strange interactions. The environment could be considered deadpan; the grayed out nature of the workspace feels suffocating. Tasks can be paid for with literal Payday bars, and coffee seems to come out of the sink.

What Diego also uncovers, beyond quirky co-workers and a seemingly nonsensical day-to-day calendar buried in the back of his desk drawer, is an underground filing club. As in, a competitive underground filing club with spotlights, competitors, a betting ring, and a full-fledged ring announcer. Diego recognizes that a kind colleague, June (Greena Park), would be perfect for the competition. With exceptionally fast filing skills, she begrudgingly participates. Along the way Diego and June may find their connection at work and through “Filing Club” taking on a more significant meaning.

Shot in Yakima, Washington, approximately two-and-a-half hours east of Seattle, All Sorts is using every penny of its microbudget, but brings a swagger and confidence often found with a bigger, more robustly budgeted film. Comparisons can be made to Being John Malkovich, Office Space, and any other surreal, absurdist film idea you want to throw at this.

However, All Sorts is wholly its own creation from writer/director J. Rick Castañeda. There are frequent laughs of varying degrees, the performances solid throughout the diverse and quite talented ensemble.

All Sorts was screened virtually as part of the 47th Seattle International Film Festival, where the film received its World Premiere.