Alfred & Jakobine

For nearly 60 years, an old, dilapidated London taxi has been in Alfred’s possession. It hasn’t worked for several decades, but 84-year-old Alfred can’t seem to part with it. In the late 1950s, he and Jakobine, an artist and his wife at the time, used the car to travel around the globe. Their burning passion for each other fueled their journey from Japan to Morocco, India, Tibet, and numerous other faraway locales. But that passion dwindled when the couple settled in Syracuse, New York, and Jakobine became desperate to have a child. After Jakobine, at 42, gave birth to their son Niels, Alfred left his family and resumed life on the road. This documentary uses archival footage and Jakobine’s diaries to reveal the former lovers’ past. The poetic and touching ALFRED & JAKOBINE then follows Alfred in a grand gesture—restoring the taxi to working order and driving over 2,000 miles across the country—to take Jakobine on one final ride. – E.B.