2,351 Ratings

Uncle Yanco

Oncle Yanco

France, United States, 1967

Short, Documentary

Synopsis

In her effervescent first California film, Agnès Varda delves into her own family history. The short documentary Uncle Yanco features Varda tracking down a Greek emigrant relative she’s never met, Jean Varda, discovering an artist and kindred soul leading a bohemian life in Sausalito.

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Uncle Yanco Directed by Agnès Varda

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Awards & Festivals

Viennale

2006

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Cast & Crew

Critics reviews

SF Weekly

A deft collage artist and a social fixture within his “aquatic suburbia,” Yanco seems to spend his days fielding inspirations, holding court among a handful of sweet-faced hippies, and generally being an excellent subject for an Agnès Varda movie.

Jonathan Kiefer

August 19, 2015

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Uncle Yanco is the cinematic equivalent of a breeze blowing through gossamer curtains. Varda’s delight at meeting her relative can be felt in every frame, yet this is more than just a document of the coming together of two kindred spirits. With its fragmented opening visuals and sounds, bursts of psychedelic color, and images of the San Francisco area, it’s as much an experimental evocation of a place and time as a portrait of a person.

Michael Koresky

August 13, 2015

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If the Inuit supposedly have an extensive vocabulary to describe variations of snow, surely Angelenos must have the same for sunlight. Dull, glaring, hazy, and speckled, Varda harnesses them all to render the color palette of the period especially striking. The soft pastels and psychedelic bursts are most vibrant in Uncle Yanco, making this playful 19-minute short the greatest delight of all.

Emma Myers

July 01, 2015

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What are people saying?

Lynch/Fellini's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
Lynch/Fellini

This was a lovely little memoir film from Agnès Varda that is a time capsule for previous generations.
April 30, 2019 15:36
- 7
- 0
Sedef's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
Sedef

Very enjoyed seeing a transparent perspective on maintaining a simple life. Cute story!
April 07, 2019 03:56
- 4
- 0
her wavelength's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
her wavelength

wonderful, colorful, fun! loving portrait/self-portrait.
March 30, 2019 21:28
- 2
- 0
roromancl's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
roromancl

Another beautiful Agnés Varda Film. A tribute to her uncle, a tribute to life...
April 07, 2019 03:56
- 3
- 0
El Biffo's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
El Biffo

Another excellent film from the great Agnes Varda. Shot in Sausalito in 1967, this very real doc about Varda's very real uncle provides an alternate look at S.F. Bay Area culture during the alleged "Summer of Love".
May 22, 2019 09:55
- 17
- 0
tidal waif's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
tidal waif

the only way to avoid being subjected to the ultimate indignity, which is to be psychoanalized, is to go sailing, at least once a week, without motor - :)) niice. mental health à la grecque, from the times of hesiod.
April 29, 2019 15:46
- 11
- 0
dionysus67's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
dionysus67

An opulent short film by Varda on a lost uncle of hers who lives in San Francisco bay. Of Greek descent, uncle Yanco proves a lay aesthetician and his view of painting is told in stunning tableaux of colorful works on canvas. Superbly edited and with the expected from Varda self-reflective moments about the film medium itself, it is a beautifully hybrid work -in content and form.
May 22, 2019 09:55
- 2
- 0
Supamodu's rating of the film Uncle Yanco
Supamodu

It 's funny how a film that makes one feel so much about family, ties and bonds, and connections, and lost shores, — in a non-pedestrian way, of course, — has the protagonist proclaim: "Family is what you shouldn't be". Ah Yanco!
April 27, 2019 05:33
- 6
- 0