Música is a film based on the life of the director and screenwriter of the film, Rudy Manusco, who also plays the protagonist of the story. The cinematic piece also has Camila Mendes(Isabella) on the cast, who plays Rudy’s love interest.
Throughout the movie we get to know Rudy and the thing he loves most: music. However, this is not only his passion: it’s also what he is tormented by. Rudy suffers from a Synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon with which he can transform every sound to rhythm, and it happens at the most unplasents situations.
The street artist also has brazilian roots, something very important to his art and his construction as a person. Música is a movie about Rudy figuring out his love life, his journey, his future with music, his relationship with his mom and the importance of Brazilian culture in his life .
Are Brazilian people stereotyped?
The Brazilian community living in the USA is considerably big, taking into account that 1,9 million of immigrants are living there nowadays. Undoubtedly, the latin people are very stereotyped, mostly by Americans and Europeans, and there is no difference in Música.
Even though the film is very well produced and the Brazilian culture is a crucial part of it, it’s not very well portrayed. That is a shame, taking into account that the director and screenwriter of the movie, Rudy Manusco, has a very close relationship with Brazil, once his family and his girlfriend’s family are brazilian.
What bothered me the most was the representation of Rudy’s mother. The movie makes it seem that all brazilian moms have that invasive, even annoying personality, basically, that “loud latina personality” that we, brazilians, are so tired of seeing in foreign films, books, etc.
Also, something that can be a bigger problem is the representation of the Brazilian girl, interpreted by the brazilian actress Camila Senna, who appears in the beginning of the movie, in a scene where Rudy’s mom wants to set him up with her. She is the biggest Brazilian stereotype. The lady is very sassy, hitting on the protagonist the first time they are seeing each other, appearing that she just wants to “make out”, making Rudy feel uncomfortable with his mom’s attitude and with hers.
Is it worth watching the movie?
In general, the movie is very good, and super worth watching! Besides the details that I didn’t like, it’s noticeable that it is one of the films that represents the Brazilian community in a foreign country the best. The union and the affection present among Brazilians is well shown on the screen, especially in a situation in which we, brazilians, are most vulnerable. Living in a foreign country is very hard, particularly when you are part of a population that is always a target of xenophobic attacks like what often happens in the USA.
Some aspects that are really present in Brazilian culture are represented in the movie, like the popular drink “Caipirinha”, the dance style called “Capoeira” and the music, of course. Despite just showing the obvious and most predictable aspects of our costumes, the film made it in a very fun and light way. Something really nice about the cast of the movie is that every Brazilian character is portraied by a Brazilian person, or at least has a close descendant.
“Música” is a really enjoyable movie, made not only for Brazilians but for people from any country. If you are looking for a different story being shown in a fun way, with lots of laughs, cute moments and a beautiful culture this is for you.
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The article above was edited by Maria Esther Cortez.
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