The Return Journey

Jaap has been with Maartje for almost 50 years. Where the grumpy Jaap no longer has much desire to do things, the sometimes somewhat confused Maartje is still full of zest for life. When the couple receives a letter from an old vacation friend, Jaap lets himself be persuaded with appropriate reluctance to visit him in Southern Europe. So many years later, the two travel in their old car through a totally changed Europe; bickering, but also recalling one memory after another. Along the way, Jaap comes to the painful realization that his wife has dementia. Realizing that everything might change, they learn again why they love each other. Martin van Waardenberg (‘Loenatik’, ‘De Marathon’) and Leny Breederveld (‘De Luizenmoeder’) play the lead roles in the tragicomedy ‘De Terugreis’; a melancholic, but also humorous road movie in which memories, years of love, and acceptance of changes are central. In this film by director Jelle de Jonge (‘Weg Van Jou’, ‘Lieve Mama’, ‘De Luizenmoeder’), a couple, who have been together for more than half their lives, rediscover how much they mean to each other during a nostalgic trip.