User Reviews

The films of Pierre Etaix are pretty much unknown today, having been tied up in a legal dispute for decades. It was finally resolved in 2007, and they've been restored and reintroduced within the last few years (Criterion's nice box set was released in 2013). Yoyo is perhaps the best regarded of them. It is a fine French comedy. Somewhat reminiscent of Tati, but it has its own charms. Etaix stars. At first he plays a lonely rich man in 1925 (it opens as a silent film), who uses his extravagant wealth to distract himself from missing his true love (Claudine Auger), a circus performer. She returns with his clown son, Yoyo, in tow. After the stock market crash, Etaix joins his girl and their son in the circus act. The film soon skips ahead to WWII, where Yoyo, now an adult clown (also played by Etaix) entertains troops and hopes for better times. The plot on this one is very loose, and the comedy's not always laugh-out-loud funny, but it is very amusing and entertaining throughout. It's also quite lovely at times. It seems that this Etaix person is an actual discovery.

I remember in 1965 seeing a clip of this movie on TV the week it came out. It featured a rich woman being driven slowly round the square by her chauffeur and 'walking' her dog by sitting in the back of the limousine with her dog on a lead to the pavement. That quirky and humorous image stuck in my impressionable young head and I promised myself I would go and see it when it came to the local cinema. Needless to say, it never did and it has never been on TV or DVD that I'm aware of.

I'm still waiting...

This is so often the case in the UK. I am a huge fan of Japanese cinema but most of the movies reviewed highly on sites like Midnight Eye never get over here. Are subtitles so unbearable to UK moviegoers? We lap up some of the tripe from Hollywood but anything where English is not the main language really struggles. One thing is for sure, most of the challenging and original stuff is not coming from Los Angeles.

I'm 47. It's genius. I have no other words, to say them would be a disservice.

OK my review didn't pass the quantity test: I have to write more lines otherwise I can't submit this.

Tarkovsky's "Ivan's Childhood" has burnt indelible images into my mind, so did this film.

This film also bought me joy. It's very beautiful, very very funny and at times very sad.

It's highly stylised throughout, each period of the story is depicted through the cinema conventions of that period (somewhat). The stylisation continues through highly over-exaggerated but incredibly musical sound design and almost no dialogue.

The cinematography is stunning, the direction and editing are stunning, the performances are excellent throughout.

I may be alone in thinking that this is one of the greatest films but please make your own judgement, I'm happy.

This movie was on TCM the other evening and I am glad I caught it. Host Robert Osborne explained that it was tied up in litigation for many years and has had little TV or theater exposure. Coincidentally, it was at the Film Forum in NYC in April, along with 3 other films of director/star/writer Pierre Etaix.

As mentioned in my title, he borrows heavily from both Tati and Chaplin, and it is a very successful blend of both. He has lots of clever sight gags of the kind Tati sprinkled liberally throughout his films, as well as the prolonged kind of skit favored by Chaplin. But whereas Tati's characters are primarily two-dimensional, Chaplin's are often fleshed out with heart, and the humor contained sometimes comes with a tinge of pathos. Etaix combines the best elements of both masters and the result is a very thoughtful brand of comedy which draws the viewer in like a vortex.

I only recorded this one, but I wish I had recorded the others. His is a unique type of humor which comes with an emotional ingredient I had not seen before in film comedy. It is presented as a mini-saga, for lack of a better term, of a boy who grows to manhood trying to earn enough to restore his father's château. His mother, a circus acrobat, had become estranged from his father years earlier and retained custody of the boy. More than 40 years elapse during the film and Etaix plays both the father and, later, the boy grown up.

A reviewer above mentioned that Etaix displayed genius. I would like to see more proof but the reviewer is on the right track. "Yoyo" is a special film from a gifted filmmaker which will touch your heart as comedy rarely does.

A strange little movie, of very few words, by Pierre Étaix. Ostensibly the story of a billionaire playboy discovering he has sired a son with a circus performer, it can be seen mostly as a kind of 1960s tribute to the silent age: packed to the brim with sight gags, it is seldom laugh-out-loud funny, but continually inventive, charming and gorgeous to look at.

If you are a fan of either the films of Jacques Tati or 'The Artist' (2011), with perhaps a touch of Wes Anderson, this feels cut from a similar cloth and may well appeal.

Is this a slow film? It takes it time, sure, and it should. I never wished it moved more quickly. Humor served so deliciously can take its time. There is biting satire, moments of brilliant, visual cleverness, smart homages to Chaplin, Keaton, Fellini and others-in a non-stop progression of sketches that are never merely silly. Young YoYo's playful delight in his exploration of a mansion is the spell that establishes the story's magic. And the boy clown, in his clown shoes, white gloves, whiteface, painted tear drops, red clown nose and turned down hat is not in costume, but wearing his natural street clothes-reveals the loving, longing heart of this endearing, classic French meal that like a Michelin 3-star dining experience, is enjoyed at a pace that you might savor all the textures, flavors as well as the presentation.

Growing up in France, I always heard of Jacques Tati and Pierre Etaix in the same breath: critical successes, commercial failures. This is the first time I am actually seeing an Etaix movie (via the Criterion's DVD). and I see the charm, but I also see the limitations of Etaix's art, unfortunately. While Jacques Tati's "Playtime" is a timeless masterpiece ( I have seen Playtime 3 or 4 times now, big screen or small screen, and I never get tired of it) Pierre Etaix' s "Yoyo" has its charming moments and delightful camera angles, but in the end, it comes out as a collection of gags (some enchanting, some dated) with no coherence behind them. No developed storyline. "Yoyo" starts in a virtuoso way (fabulous fake silent movie!), but peters out quickly script wise, and by the end, elicits only a "meh?". I stopped watching the second movie ("As long as you got your health") after 2 "sketches": no plot, bad timing, irritating musical choices. I am so very sorry, Mr Etaix.

Utterly charming homage to silent movies, with little dialogue but lots of sight gags, and an energy reminiscent of the era. Its playful story begins in the chateau of a wealthy man in the 1920's, and as it shifts focus to the man's son and marches through to the 1960's, it lampoons the rich, finds humor in the Depression and war years, and pokes fun at modernization. There are themes of wealth not buying happiness, how fickle fate can change one's fortunes in an instant, and how life can recur in some ways from generation to generation, this last point emphasized by Pierre Étaix playing both father and son. It's very light in tone, but there is a tinge of melancholy despite all its humor. I loved the little tributes to Fellini, Chaplin, Keaton, and Groucho Marx, and the cinematography was beautiful too. It was probably strongest at the beginning and it felt a little slow in places, but it kept me smiling throughout.

'Le soupirant' alone is a brilliant comedy far outpacing too many others that have ever been made; 'Le grand amour' cemented what 'Tant qu'on a la santé' confirmed - that Pierre Étaix was a timeless genius that the world frankly didn't deserve. And again with 'Yoyo': from the moment it begins this is an absolute delight, clever and funny and immediately earning top marks. Taking cues from silent visionaries like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin, Étaix fills his features with sight gags, sound gags, situational humor, physical comedy, and endless playful reverie of a very visual nature, while nonetheless telling a meaningful story. More than that, it's so inescapably glad and wholehearted as to inspire tears of joy for the simple beauty and wit of it all, and before even ten minutes have passed this 1965 picture convinced me it's one of the greatest films ever made. Let's not beat around the bush: no matter who you are or what your cinematic preferences, this is a must-see.

It's all but criminal that Étaix isn't more well known; his name deserves to be celebrated among the most highly esteemed of all comedians, actors, and filmmakers. His direction is utterly impeccable, orchestrating scenes with a laser precision that comes across as unbelievably tight choreography (with or without any actual dancing or stunts involved), and bearing meticulous, shrewdly artistic shot composition - while never, ever losing sight of the core value of entertainment. That fastidiousness extends to the acting, including himself, Luce Klein, Claudine Auger, and Philippe Dionnet: natural, loose, and dynamic, yet absolutely sharp and flawless, never out of place by the slightest fraction. Once again sharing writing duties with regular collaborator and prolific screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, Étaix has concocted a marvelously steady, unyielding stream of wonderful silliness, giving us scenes so astoundingly smart that even the most grim of topics are turned on their head to be irreverent and elicit solid laughs. And still, under all the ridiculousness, there's an earnest and heartfelt narrative that is excellent on its own merits (if sometimes light and scattered) and which serves as fine contrast to heighten the humor in turn.

All this is more than enough to affirm 'Yoyo' as the essential classic that it is, but in every other capacity it's just as stupendous. Name whatever element one will and the same utmost quality applies: cinematography, editing, stunts, effects, filming locations, production design, art direction, costume design, hair, makeup, sound effects, animal handling, and so on down the line. Cheeky references to other comedians make plain Étaix's influences and points of comparison, and one sees here the ingenuity that would undeniably influence others in turn. The end result of all this supreme frivolity, skill, intelligence, and imagination is that 95 minutes pass all too quickly; wherever the fun may momentarily take a pause, the storytelling or other brainy inclusions pick up that tiny slack. I can only repeat that this is a boundless pleasure from top to bottom, and I can't believe it was ever in need of rediscovery or restoration. As if to emphasize the point, later in the same year that this was made Auger would star in one of Eon Productions' worst James Bond movies, and yet this is virtually unheard of while 'Thunderball' is inexplicably a household name.

What variation in magnificence one might subjectively perceive is minimal, minor, and only ever temporary, and even where this is true the film remains tremendously enjoyable. What more is there to say? However one must go about finding it, this is well worth anyone's time to seek out. 'Yoyo' is exceptional, and earns my highest and heartiest recommendation. Bravo!

squeaky shoes, drawers, carts, etc. much like "The Artist" minimal dialog

Pierre Étaix co-directed one of Jacques Tati's great hits, "Mon Oncle" and I noticed that many folks think his style is very close to Tati's--which it is. However, and this is very important, if you don't like Tati's film, you'll probably not be particularly fond of "Yoyo". The film looks a bit like the recent film "The Artist" combined with Tati as well as Chaplin. Many love this, it's true. I didn't. I just felt that the pacing was extremely slow and the film lacked energy and fun.

The film begins with a bored, rich guy (Pierre Étaix) in a huge house. He seems to have no interest in anything and eventually you learn it's because he's lost his love--a woman who ran off to be in the circus. This portion of the film is very much like a silent film--with very little dialog and VERY over-exaggerated sound effects. I thought it rather annoying when you hear almost explosively loud squeaking shoes and sliding drawers. It was supposed to be funny...it wasn't.

When the stock market crashes in 1929, the bored rich guy sells off the contents of his house and goes in search of this lady love. They meet and tour the country entertaining--along with her son (the rich guy now realizes he has a kid), Yoyo. Yoyo is a small and very talented clown and when he grows, he is ALSO played by Étaix. He moves back into the empty mansion and restores it to its old glory--but eventually it turns out he's pretty bored and the home is emotionally empty.

If you like mimes and Jacques Tati, then by all means watch this film. Otherwise, for me, it just wasn't particularly interesting. While it had some very nice sight gags, I just didn't care one bit about the characters--a serious flaw.

While Tati seemed to love performers this film abuses them, its seriously unfunny. The actors are fine but they are treated shoddily. The film maker seems to want to denigrate live performers. It's inventiveness is not enough salvage it's integrity.. Check out any Tati movie and compare the framing the narrative and the characterization to appreciate how trite this film is by comparison. Oddly it was made AFTER Tati's heyday. One would hope something had been learned. French satire by its very nature is somewhat lame, but this is embarrassing. It's as though Germany had won in 1871 and infected European story telling.