Música

This movie was very beautifully done. The cinematography, editing, and directing choices were on point.

Cami Mendes is gorgeous and she steals the movie. In addition, there were funny moments with the puppet.

However, there is something missing about this movie. It felt a bit boring at times. I think there needed to be more work on the conflict or building more character development in relation to the conflict in the story. Personally, I needed more buy in to what he was going through.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I've always like Rudy's shorts, and I think the years of creating short videos has really paid off.

Rudy is torn between 2 lovers and feeling like a fool. Pressured by his Mum and friends to sort himself out, but all he wants to do is make music and play with his puppets. Dumped by his girlfriend but then meets another girl who urges him on.

I had no idea what this was going to be like, and at first it sort of reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors in the way it combines theatre type performing, film acting and puppetry.

It deftly handles problems with breakups and the 'tween time' from the breakup to the meeting someone new. We've probably all been there and we've also been at that point in our lives when we have no proper clue what we are doing.

Isabella prompts him to pursue his dream and because of his amorous intentions to her he does just that. His mother, played by his real life Brazilian mother Maria Mancuso, is so perfect for the role it's untrue. Her first time ever in a movie too.

The cinematography is playful and I love the live action scenes where his synaesthesia is playing up. Everything about this film is great. Odd in parts, but likeable anyway.

This is Rudy's directorial debut and I believe he's struck paydirt instantly. Can't wait to see what else he does. A solid 7 from me.

The movie at times can be generic yes, however I noticed them film is shot almost like someone has experience with directing a stage performance.

I could tell with the transitions with physical set dressing and using staging making the locations also part of the movie.

The movie itself I feel like it has some great moments, I do think the weakest park is probably the script as it was lacking emotion that you would usually find in a romcom.

With that in mind, I am happy it didn't run with the by the numbers "Musician is talented but lost the will to do the things he loved until a woman come into his life". Instead he is what he is and continues to push forward.

So, Rudy Mancuso wrote and directed 'Musica', and in it he stars as Rudy, a person with synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In this movie Rudy mostly experiences this in everyday sounds, kids playing ball, cooks tapping their utensils, bus and subway sounds, those sorts of things. But to him they are rhythms and music.

In real life this is Rudy Mancuso. In real life he is an accomplished musician, he is a puppeteer, so this movie is mostly autobiographical. The fictional part is having a 'gringa' for a girlfriend and realizing that they weren't really a good fit for each other.

Then one faithful day Rudy is picking up fish at the local market and gets hit on his face with a fish thrown by one of the workers. In that process he meets fellow Brazilian, Camila Mendes as Isabella. Continuing the reflection of real life, Rudy and Camilla met during the making of this movie and now, in real life they are a couple.

It also appears that Rudy's movie mother, Maria, is played by his real mother, Maria, although I can't find out anything about her.

All that aside, is it an entertaining movie? Yes, it is. While the bare-bones rom-com story follows a mostly familiar formula, the way the movie is made is unique and quirky. It was refreshing to watch a movie presented in a totally different manner.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Amazon Prime.

While I thought the film had a very new and unique style about it that I enjoyed, and many funny moments sprinkled in and out (the scene at the Brazilian restaurant had me laughing in tears), parts of the main story line were hard to get behind.

Rudy's relationship with Isabella just seemed to have so many holes in it. In a way it almost seemed as if her character was more of a figment of his imagination than one of actual reality. It was hard for me to understand the dynamic between these two characters or how their relationship with one and other even started.

As for how the movie ended it was one of those upsetting endings that never fully closed off the story. Also the person that Rudy became seemed so far fetched for me to really buy into that sort of narrative

Overall I think there were too many conflicting elements to the story for it to be something great. I'm happy to have watched this for the new and interesting visuals, catchy beats and laughable moments, though without the backbone of a unified and coherent story, it started to feel like watching this movie was just a waste of time.

5 stars!