‘Noise’ or ‘Ruido’ is a social issue drama film about a woman who is desperately seeking the whereabouts of her daughter who went missing two years ago. It is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Julia has been called to identify a girl, thought to be her missing daughter Ger. It turns out to be a mess up by the authorities.
Ger finished her studies nine months ago and was a psychologist. She went missing during a trip with her friends to celebrate their graduation.
Abril, a journalist who is investigating the disappearance of numerous individuals, communicates with her regarding the case.
Julia keeps rewatching the last video message sent by Ger, where she asked her mother to relax and that she would see her soon.
Abril and Julia visit Cassandra, a lawyer detached from the government who has helped many with cases of missing people.
Julia tells her that a video surfaced of Ger and her friends attempting to snort cocaine. She was holding the bag and now the police are trying to use this against her.
Cassandra suggests that Julia look for her in a red light district where attractive women are kidnapped and taken for trafficking.
Julia and Abril also look in a trailer full of dead bodies but she is relieved not to find her. She then decides to enter the red light district.
The police feign support, but as soon as Julia and Abril enter one of the houses, the cops arrive to take them. As they flee, the two are told to find the pastor by one of the women.
At the pastor’s shelter, they find a number of victims of kidnapping and trafficking, who live there with their children, but still no sign of Ger.
Next, they find a group that searches the fields for dead bodies. They’ve all lost someone from their family and have now bonded with each other. Julia finds some solace with them but no trace of Ger.
Julia asks Abril why she has undertaken such a dangerous investigation even though she has a daughter to take care of. She replies that it’s precisely the reason she does it; because she knows the importance of family.
Both the women have come under the notice of dangerous individuals from the crime syndicates as well as the government, who have some sort of connection.
During a bus journey, some men enter and forcefully drag Abril away, and Julia is only able to watch in agony as she knows very well there’s nothing she can do.
She criticises the police for being against her, who assure her that Abril will be fine. They’ve found a criminal with contacts and he might have some information on Ger.
Noise (2023) ending explained in detail:
What happened to Ger?
The man caught by the police is part of a drug cartel. Julia talks to him directly and asks if he has seen her daughter.
She shows him photos of her and tells him about her. He hears with interest and tells her that looking for her is a waste of time.
When Julia questions why, he tells her that she and her friends had been snorting cocaine that wasn’t theirs so they took her. And also because she was attractive.
Although it’s still unclear what exactly happened to her, but the cartel member’s words strongly hint that they raped and killed her.
What causes the uproar?
Julia is visibly in shock after hearing the savage words of the thug. She leaves the building in a haze and finds a crowd.
All the mothers and female relatives of the missing people have banded together and started protesting against the authorities.
Julia is moved to see this kind of revolt. She cannot stop herself from joining the chants as she knows their pain extremely well.
Is Julia dead or alive?
As soon it’s dark and the media leave, the police storm the place and start attacking the crowd, which causes chaos. Julia tries to escape along with all the women, but she is hit by one of the men and loses consciousness.
When she wakes up, nobody seems to notice her. She quietly leaves the place and finds a girl in a mask, who removes it and reveals herself as Ger.
This last sequence means that Julia is dead and this was the only way she could reunite with her daughter.
In the end, it is revealed that in Mexico, since the start of the ‘so-called’ war on drugs, over 90,000 people have gone missing. But it’s not about the number; it’s about the people and their families.
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