Plot Summary
Musica is a semi-autobiographical story about a college student named Rudy as he navigates living with a special condition called Synaesthesia, school, love life, and family.
At the movie’s beginning, Rudy is dumped by his girlfriend of four years because of their different outlooks. While Haley wants them to seriously think about the future after finishing their studies, Rudy is easily distracted and wants to play his music and puppeteer. His mother wants Rudy to find a Brazilian girl to marry, and his chance to encounter Isabela complicates things further. Just when things start to get better with Isabella, Haley wants Rudy back, putting him in a dilemma and making him unable to make a choice.
What is Rudy’s unique condition?
As long as he can remember, Rudy has lived with a special condition where his brain transforms everyday sounds into rhythmic beats, making every moment in his life a musical sequence. The condition known as Synaesthesia is about involuntary perceptions crossing over between senses, and in Rudy’s case, normal sounds lead to sensory triggers that predictably and consistently become music.
In this regard, his attention span is minimal, and he is easily distracted, which makes socialization or keeping relationships difficult.
What happens between Rudy and Haley?
Rudy and Haley have been in a relationship for four years. Haley is from a wealthy family that values plans for the future and has a strong background. Therefore, Rudy and Haley plan to finish school, find jobs, and move together to the city. However, Haley feels like Rudy is no longer on board with their plans since he is easily distracted and slacking in his studies to concentrate on playing music with his puppets at the subway station.
Therefore, Haley breaks up with Rudy at a café when the sounds of chopping, clacking, footsteps, and plates, turning the restaurant into a choreographed dance sequence, distract him.
Rudy is devastated by the break-up but cannot open up to Haley about his condition. After thinking about it and resolving to get Haley back at first, he starts becoming active in class to catch Haley’s attention. However, the initial plan works when Rudy begins to move on and starts another relationship. Haley walks up to him after class and asks to meet up for a talk at the country club, but Rudy cannot turn her down.
He starts hanging out with Haley again and even meets up with her parents. During dinner, which he does not enjoy because of their judgmental looks and questioning, Rudy realizes that Haley sugarcoats their relationship, forcing plans that he is unsure he wants to pursue.
After the dinner, Rudy resolves to break up with Haley, and she invites him for an apology dinner. Things do not go as he had hoped when he accidentally encounters his other girlfriend. After a dramatic two-timing scene trying to appease both girls, Haley finds out what Rudy has been up to, slaps him, and leaves.
What happened between Rudy and Isabella?
Rudy runs into Isabela when his mother sends him to buy fish at a famous local fish store. Isabella catches Rudy’s attention at first sight, and he starts thinking about her more than he would admit. Therefore, he starts frequenting the store, hoping to run into her, and one day, he runs into her on the way to the market and decides to accompany her.
Talking to Isabella is easy and fun as Rudy feels that she understands him more and he can open up to her. Isabella lives in the moment, appreciating the little things instead of obsessing about the future. She likes their small town and is not considering leaving since it provides everything she needs.
Rudy opens up to Isabella about his condition, and she gives him a listening ear even when she does not understand or see what he sees. However, she believes he understands that it is because he cannot tune out the sounds and gets distracted whenever he zones out. Isabella does not judge his passion for puppets and music but encourages him to take his passion to the next level and make it bigger. She says that his condition is a gift and needs to be shared with the world.
One day, Rudy decides to take Isabella out on a date, so he borrows Anwar’s food truck but gets shot. At the hospital, Isabella covers his ears to block out the noise when she realizes it is becoming too much for him, and they kiss. However, Rudy starts to double-time her and Haley when she asks to get back together.
After the horrible dinner with Haley’s family and a meaningful conversation with his puppet Diego, Rudy resolves to break up with Haley and pursue his magical connection with Isabella. Things get complicated when he runs into Isabella at the same restaurant Haley has booked for their date, and she ends up breaking up with him. Although he tries to win her back, she does not give him another chance and asks him to figure out his life first.
Who does Rudy end up with?
Rudy loses both Isabella and Haley and goes to a party with Anwar. He ends up drinking too much and hallucinates scenes from his childhood when his parents fought, and he hid in a closet.
The following day, over breakfast, Rudy’s mother, Maria, gives him a pep-talk, encouraging him to apologize and get back to Isabella if she makes him happy. However, Isabella does not want to be with someone she cannot trust, so she appreciates the apology, and they hug before parting ways.
Does Rudy realize his dream of pursuing music and puppetry?
Rudy returns to his usual school routine, subway station, and home. However, one day, while thinking about Isabella, he remembers her suggestion to take his puppet show to the next level. He makes more puppets and starts by hiring a female presenter to help tell the story based on his real-life experiences at the train station. He took his show even bigger with time, performing in the streets to larger crowds. He succeeded when he sold out theatres and performed on stage.
How does Musica end?
One night in the dressing room after a successful show, Rudy’s assistant brings him a takeout meal, and he notices a little smiley face on the box similar to the one Isabella had left on the fish wrap the first time they met. Inside the box is a message, “You took it higher,” which is Isabella’s way of congratulating Rudy on his success.
The movie is a fantastic work of art that offers different genres, including theatre, romantic comedy, and musical. It focuses on Rudy’s personal and professional growth amid uncertainties about the future. The script and the visuals in the movie are uniquely creative, especially the sequence where he constantly changes his shirts, running around trying to keep Isabella, Haley, and his mother happy.
The connection to the Brazilian culture is essentialized in the music, the language, and the colour-coded scenes that show Brazil’s flag, which is mesmerizing. Although the ending is abrupt, it still leaves a sweet aftertaste as the audience tries to figure out if Isabella and Rudy make up and end up together.