Review of “Budō” (2024)
Seen in 2025.
The widow names the stray cat Grape (Budō) because that’s what it eats, among other things.
Attention to detail is critical in stop-motion animation, but despite Japanese-speaking voice actors working on this short, nobody who knew the language was asked to review a sign in front of a pub that reads “ラーメン” from top to bottom. The symbol “ー” goes the wrong way on that sign: a mistake that is also seen in The Creator (2023) and plenty of other superficial tributes to East Asian cultures. The protagonist of this piece has framed a picture of her late husband in unpainted wood that a widow might use in the director’s native Sweden, instead of the black frame that is typical in the family shrines of the nominal setting. I have no doubt that the exteriors are based on loving experience of real Japanese cityscapes, and they are pretty impressive, but the veterinaries look like Tove Jansson’s Snufkin and, more importantly, the substance of the script has as little to do with Japan as does a quick game of Katamari Damacy in an Ikea sofa in Gothenburg. Budō feels more like a tribute to Up (2009) than a meaningful digest of Japanese culture.