The Alliance Française French Film Festival continues this week with so many great films, including two screenings of Cycle of Time – a sharp, funny, and delightfully subversive leap through time. This film is the new social comedy from director Vinciane Millereau, starring Elsa Zylberstein and Didier Bourdon.
In a quiet 1950s French town, Hélène (Elsa Zylberstein, At the End of the Day), Michel (Didier Bourdon, The Scammers) and their two children live simple, happy days. Michel works at the bank while Hélène dedicates herself entirely to the home and family … until a sudden twist catapults them straight into 2025, in a time jump worthy of Back to the Future.
Suddenly, everything familiar has vanished: technology, social codes, and the pace of life itself. The world they knew has been replaced by something faster, louder, and far less predictable. But as they encounter new ways of thinking, loving, and living, the question becomes not just how they will adapt – but whether they even want to.
With humour, charm, and an eye for social detail, Cycle Of Time invites viewers to rediscover the present through the eyes of two people from another time. This inventive time travel tale asks: when the future arrives without warning, what do we hold onto and what do we let go?
Screening at Palace Cinemas, Byron Bay – palacecinemas.com.au.
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