Yoyo (1965)

A man has everything: dozens of servants, a palace, vast woods, gardens, a lake, mechanical toys, private entertainment troupes of musicians and dancers. He has it all - but love. When ... See full summary »

Director:

Pierre Étaix

Writers:

Pierre Étaix (scenario and adaptation), Jean-Claude Carrière (scenario and adaptation)

Stars:

Pierre Étaix, Claudine Auger, Philippe Dionnet

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierre Étaix	...	Yoyo / le millionaire
Claudine Auger	...	Isolina
Philippe Dionnet	...	Yoyo enfant
Luce Klein	...	L'écuyère
Arthur Allan
Amédée
Armand Andrieu
Baixas
Martine de Breteuil	...	Madame de Briac
Philippe Castelli	...	Le domestique (as Castelli)
Luc Delhumeau	...	Le douanier
Gabrielle Doulcet	...	La dame au collier
Les Ballets de René Goliard
François Lalande
Georges Loriot	...	(as Loriot)

Storyline

A man has everything: dozens of servants, a palace, vast woods, gardens, a lake, mechanical toys, private entertainment troupes of musicians and dancers. He has it all - but love. When alone, he sits at a desk, sighing, and looking at a photograph of a pretty girl. One day, the circus descended onto his palace, and amidst all the fun it brought, he recognized the Amazon on the white horse - the girl in the photograph. The girl is now the mother of a small boy, Yo-Yo, whom she considers that looks like the millionaire, even under a clown's make-up. The boy will spend some time in the palace, in awe of so much riches, but he will leave (in a dream-like scene) on the tusks of the elephant. Time passes - and one day Yo-Yo will be the owner of his father's palace in decay. Starting from scratch, he will rebuilt it, and be praised as a great clown, an artist, a film-maker, a millionaire. Yet, something is amiss...

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Plot Keywords:

circus | yo yo | clown | circus clown | servant | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Buster Keaton (a huge Etaix influence) gets a brief nod during the party scene at 86:35, when a gaggle of press and photographers place a Keaton-esque porkpie hat on Etaix's head and he waves it away.

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Quotes

Le Millionaire, Yoyo's father: Where is she now?

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Connections

References The Great Dictator (1940)

User Reviews

I am definitely in the minority.

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.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 February 1965 (France)

Also Known As:

Yo-yo

Filming Locations:

Auray, Morbihan, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

C.A.P.A.C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 97 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1