Progress vs Regress

People talk about the elderly a lot but rarely ask them what they think. Sometimes serious, usually with light-hearted humor, Melanie Bonajo questions a group of centenarians about their lives, new inventions, selfies and technology. In the background, the virtual scenery is constantly changing; one moment the subjects are in a space station, and the next moment in a Jacuzzi. For some, technology is a breath of fresh air, for others a mystery. There is disappointment about the materialism of the young, but they also think the generation gap is smaller than it used to be, when young people were expected to be seen and not heard. In the second half of the film, old and young come together to talk about modern communication technology, missing the feeling of trust and togetherness that physical contact entails, about WhatsApp and rotary dial telephones. And also about the departure of the one therapist in the nursing home who really touched people. Not to mention the afterlife, which none of them believes in. This is a film full of surprises.