Budo

Grief and mourning can look different for all of us. For some, the notion of picking ourselves back up is a daunting task. Others jump headfirst into new activities and interests to quell the mind. And for even others, a pet can cure that ache and weariness. But what happens when that pet takes over more than just your residence? Directed by Amanda Aagard and Alexander Toma, short film Budo delves into how one can cope with loss and the unexpected.

As a widow (Mayuko Lindström) continues to mourn and honor the loss of her husband, she comes across a cat on the street on the way home from grocery shopping. Making the decision to bring the cat home with her, the widow begins to take care of and dote on her new friend. However, strange happenings occur as the cat – she has named Budo – begins to slowly take over the widow’s residence and upend her life. When taking care of her new resident becomes too much, the widow must make a decision – to stay in the life that she has known or move forward in this new chapter of her life and embrace change.

Aagard and Toma have created a story that brings a little bit of sadness, a touch of humor and a sense of hope and purpose. Budo encapsulates those themes in a light-hearted way with a feline that you can’t help but adore. Well, not always adore as Budo continues to push the boundaries of the widow. Whether it be in eating the bonsai tree or growing to astronomical size, Budo is a stark reminder of how the widow handles her own grief. While she does not really talk in the film and the audience is privy to her thoughts through the mini-shrine she keeps of her late husband, Budo’s presence begins to overwhelm the widow and her need of stability and routine. Rather than allowing her to languish in her grief, the rather peculiar feline is adamant in reminding her that there is a great big world out there and she should explore it.

What was really striking was the way that Budo continued to insert themself into the widow’s life. While the widow kept trying to honor her past and look back on a life that she once lived, Budo was the antithesis of that. Instead, the cat would grow in size and push boundaries within the house. As the space in the apartment would dwindle down until Budo took over the entire residence, the widow is then left grappling with the choice to either deal with the uncomfortable feeling or try to bury those feelings. Her hesitant nature begins to go away the longer she looks at the feline and understands the effect that this new pet has had in her life without her husband.

While loss can overwhelm us, the hope that new chapters lie ahead are more enticing. The emptiness that loss creates may never quite go away, that’s a given. But finding the strength to move forward and take new chances may be just the right thing to do….cat or no cat.