A family idyll in 1950s France: Michel (Didier Bourdon), a mediocre bank employee and breadwinner, while his wife Hélène (Elsa Zylberstein), sporting a perm but rebellious, takes care of the household and children. The patriarchal paradise seems perfect until a short circuit in their newly installed washing machine catapults them into the year 2025. Suddenly, the roles are reversed. While Hélène, despite her complete lack of awareness, is surprisingly successful as a career-driven powerhouse, Michel struggles as a stay-at-home dad in a smart home. Instead of submissive rhetoric, Michel now needs empowerment, while Hélène revels in the freedom of emancipation. But this brave new world has its pitfalls: the virtual assistant is stubborn, the furniture has to be assembled by hand, dog poop has to be picked up from the floor, and their own daughter wants to marry her friend. Now the disempowered head of the family has had enough. It's back to the good old days, right now! If only he knew how to program the smart washing machine to travel back in time.
In THE PROGRESSIVE NOSTALGIANS, freedom is always just a wingbeat away from the good old days. Director Vinciane Millereau demonstrates a brilliant feel for the absurdities of our time. With irreverent humor, precise sarcasm, and delightful situational comedy, THE PROGRESSIVE NOSTALGIANS skewers the promises of salvation in our present and tells of the wonderful relativity of history.
