Around the World When You Were My Age

The first thing you notice is the framing, with rounded corners and frayed edges. Evoking different eras, not quite as high-definition as today. More homely. This suits the trip back in time director Aya Koretzky takes with her father, Jiro. In 1970, aged 30, he left Yokohama for a year-long, round-the-world trip taking in the Soviet Union, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the United States. Koretzky reconstructs the journey using old photographs, journal entries and memories. Gradually it becomes clear how the trip shaped her father, much more than you might expect when you see him calmly gardening today. Barcelona’s architecture, poverty in Morocco, Tunisia’s chaos, the United States’ freedom: and much more that he saw, that impressed him and drastically shook up his take on the world. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)