The movie Hibernatus follows the story of Paul Fournier, a French explorer who embarks on a scientific expedition to Greenland in 1905. However, he disappears during the expedition and is presumed dead.
Fast forward to the 1960s, a group of scientists discovers Fournier's frozen body in Greenland and brings him back to France. To their surprise, they discovered that he is still alive and perfectly conserved.
Fournier's descendants, the Lorie family, take him into their care and decide to keep his revival a secret from the rest of the world. They create an elaborate ruse to make him believe that he is still in 1905 and that everyone around him is his family.
The Lorie family goes to great lengths to preserve the illusion, dressing in period costumes, speaking in old-fashioned French and recreating the decor of 1905. However, as they try to reintegrate Fournier into their lives, they soon realize that the world has changed drastically in the past 60 years.
As Fournier begins to notice the inconsistencies and contradictions in his new life, he becomes increasingly bewildered and confused. The situation reaches a climax when a government official who had originally sent Fournier on his expedition comes to visit, threatening to reveal the truth about his revival to the world.
Hibernatus is a charming and lighthearted comedy that explores themes of identity, tradition, and the passage of time. It features standout performances by Louis de Funès as the eccentric uncle and Claude Gensac as the loving cousin who tries to protect Fournier from the harsh realities of the modern world.