BAGGAGE: Airports, Anxieties, and Affirmative Friendships
by Varsha Murali Kaushik
These are my memories of airports as an international student: struggling to place my heavy suitcases on the conveyor belts, praying that the scale doesn’t blink back at me in overweight numbers, the struggles of taking off and putting on my favourite boots during security, and the overwhelming sense of saying goodbye and grief that hangs over it all. These are also my memories of airports as a girl who has made the most of the opportunities she was given: a cup of steaming hot cheesy ramyeon while my parents smile at me as I burn my tongue, making boomerang videos of tickets sticking out of passports with my friends, and a shoulder to put my head on when the loneliness returns. En résumé: airports are scary places, but not when you have someone you love and trust by your side.
And that is, in fact, the exact same feeling that watching BAGGAGE (2025), directed and written by Lucy Davidson, filled me with. A story of three friends who are setting off on a trip, one of whom gets caught during check-in and security checks for having something in her baggage that the system flags down. This is no rare happenstance for most of us, there is no one I know who hasn’t experienced the same stress and worry of things going comically wrong when you’re travelling. Except that it doesn’t feel funny when it does happen, and that is where BAGGAGE tugs at your heartstrings.
The film’s charm lies in its ability to be incredibly poignant over the course of its very short 5-minute runtime. We are introduced to the three girlfriends as they are in line to check in to their flight and make their way through security, where one of them is stopped and checked again, rather invasively, for items that aren’t allowed to be in the “baggage” on board. The characters are humanoid suitcases, designed in block-shaped exterior bodies, with multiple patches and decor on their outer shells. Although we only get a glimpse into these patches, they are clever tools used to add to the personality of each of these characters and very clearly show us who is who. We have a “cool” friend, who has a fancier suitcase with a patterned design and dons sunglasses, indicating that she is unphased by any sort of worries. We have a “traveller” friend, who has been to a lot of places, as evidenced by her numerous patches. And finally, we have the main character, who I thought of as the “anxious” friend because she is stressed about being over the weight allowance, about having to throw out some of her baggage, and who I personally related the most to.
These three friends are also so much more than what their exteriors suggest. The “cool” friend is supportive and empathetic, feeling strongly for her friends when their baggage is under scrutiny. The “traveller” friend has her own baggage that she proudly wears on her exterior, saying “I <3 Nan.” The “anxious” friend, who we get a better look into as a character, carries many things inside her that make her the way she is, but she is also a good friend and someone who lives each day trying to move past what’s weighing her down. Though the film has an almost grayscale colour scheme, it is vibrant in the way its characters are designed and brought to life, in the way their eyes move around, and the way the voice actors give an emotionally powerful delivery through soft hums and understanding noises rather than full-fledged dialogues. The film’s ability to handle a sombre topic (i.e., grief) with a good balance of humour is another element that I really like.
The double entendre of the title is meaningful in many ways. Alluding to a literal piece of baggage, the film is a commentary on the anxieties associated with travel in general. As a nod to human emotion, the film is an important reminder of the fact that we might all be heavy because of the things we carry inside us, but to those who truly care about us, these things will be just another part of us to embrace and love. The invasiveness of the security check, too, reflects how the clinical, almost detached evaluation of things that we carry with us—though made from the perspective of safety and security—can trigger surprisingly strong negative emotions. It is also a reflection of how harsh and judgemental the external world can be, especially when it comes to handling the more fragile facets of being human, like the intensity and nature of emotions and experiences that are personal to each of us.
Overall, the film is a much-needed reassurance for when the world weighs you down and grief seems ever-lasting. It is an affirmation of the fact that you are not what random people think you are, nor are you defined by the baggage (or lack thereof) that weighs you down. Rather, you are the sum total of the love that you give and receive to the people in your life and the growth you have made in accepting and moving forward in spite of your baggage.