Música

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.

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.

You may have enjoyed Rudy Mancuso's YouTube and Awkward Puppets videos, but nothing prepares you for his breezy, endlessly playful and inventive feature film directing and co-writing debut.

The apparently autobiographical plot is a simple coming of age romantic comedy, but Mancuso peppers the film with rhythm, music, and delightful sight gags that tweak film conventions and keep the story tripping along in a seemingly effortless way.

Bonus points for terrific romantic chemistry between the two leads, pitch perfect pacing and casting across the board, wonderful use of color, and the feature film debut that Diego the puppet deserves!

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.

Musica is a strange film, because despite the fact it has a couple of strong leads, a relatively novel concept and decent plot, and an approachable runtime, it still feels a little empty.

I think ultimately the emotional core to this movie just doesn't resonate. All of the connections to the characters were are too surface level. It needed more. More passion. More drama. Maybe that is the real issue with this film. It strangely lacks passion given that the subject matter is a man pursuing his passion. It felt like it needed to raise its voice a bit more.

That being said there are some fun creative choices with the use of sound and music, and as mentioned the lead performances are pretty strong for the way the roles were written.

So although this film never quite dips into being bland, it flirts with the idea but just about manages to stay entertaining. It could have done with an injection of passion or something just to give it more of a spark, but it is a relatively easy and fun watch nonetheless.