Wisdom Gone Wild

"Wisdom Gone Wild" is a personal documentary following a sixteen year caregiving journey into dementia for Rose Noda, a Japanese-American woman and her filmmaker-daughter Rea. The film follows a non-linear structure going between hospice, early onset, and mid-term dementia; mirroring Rose's own erratic "travels through time."

To "enter the world" of the person living with the condition, Rea enters Rose's world, sitting calmly during her dramatic outbursts, listening deeply to her fragmented anecdotes, believing in her visions of animals, and joining her in spontaneous musical serenades. Unexpectedly, she finds a deeper connection to a mother who had previously been distant throughout her childhood.

Rea discovers that like herself, her mother was at heart an artist and a creative. She is also able to connect the dots of Rose's seemingly nonsensical stories to real events in Rose's history; in particular her incarceration in U.S. concentrations camps during WWII and the FBI surveillance of Japanese Buddhist priests.

Accepting her mother's cognitive changes, Rea discovers a poetic language to communicate with Rose. They develop a vibrant relationship based on play, connection and humor. Rose's dementia is revealed as a form of wisdom that has gone wild.