In this deeply personal film essay, renowned documentary filmmaker Herz Frank takes the viewer on a journey through his past. Initially, Frank had conceived the film as a kind of sequel to his film TEN MINUTES OLDER from 1978. Then, he had filmed the expressive face of a boy watching a puppet theatre play, in one sole take. Twenty years later he wanted to meet the boy again: The film was supposed to be called 20 YEARS OLDER. The little boy has turned into a handsome young man. Frank accompanies him to a big Bridge-tournament in Prague, but in the course of time the film increasingly becomes a documentary about Frank himself. You see photographs of his father who aroused his love for photography, hear stories about his family – a majority of which lost their lives during World War 2 -, and witness his grandson’s circumcision. These at times cheerful, at times sad memories mix with current strokes of fate. Frank’s beloved wife Ira who suffers from a serious illness, passes away one day. And Frank himself repeatedly expresses his irritation and astonishment concerning the ways of the world in meditative, poetic monologues.
In this deeply personal film essay, renowned documentary filmmaker Herz Frank takes the viewer on a journey through his past. Initially, Frank had conceived the film as a kind of sequel to his film TEN MINUTES OLDER from 1978. Then, he had filmed the expressive face of a boy watching a puppet theatre play, in one sole take. Twenty years later he wanted to meet the boy again: The film was supposed to be called 20 YEARS OLDER. The little boy has turned into a handsome young man. Frank accompanies him to a big Bridge-tournament in Prague, but in the course of time the film increasingly becomes a documentary about Frank himself. You see photographs of his father who aroused his love for photography, hear stories about his family – a majority of which lost their lives during World War 2 -, and witness his grandson’s circumcision. These at times cheerful, at times sad memories mix with current strokes of fate. Frank’s beloved wife Ira who suffers from a serious illness, passes away one day. And Frank himself repeatedly expresses his irritation and astonishment concerning the ways of the world in meditative, poetic monologues.