Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed "Yanco". This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.
This short documentary by Agnès Varda captures a charming, serendipitous family discovery with her signature personal and poetic filmmaking style. The cinematography is lively and inventive, reflecting both the bohemian San Francisco milieu and Varda's distinctive visual sensibility. Novelty is high — the film is unmistakably Varda in its intimate, playful, self-reflexive approach to a personal subject. Acting is not really applicable in a traditional sense; the documentary subjects are natural but unpolished. The plot is slight by design — a joyful encounter rather than a structured narrative. The ending is warm but understated.