Yannick

There are many reasons to love French deadpan surrealist Quentin Dupieux. As his musical alter-ego Mr Oizo, he wrote and produced the insanely catchy 1999 single Flat Beat, featuring Flat Eric. His films, which include Deerskin, Mandibles and Smoking Causes Coughing, are hilarious. He’s crazy prolific; he’s released five films in the 2020s already. And perhaps best of all, he’s a filmmaker who doesn’t outstay his welcome; only two of his features have been over 90 minutes long, with 2012’s Wrong his longest at 94 minutes.

Dupieux’s latest absurdist comedy is another short-and-sweet affair. Titled Yannick, it concerns an audience member – called Yannick – who stands up in the middle of a terrible play and expresses his displeasure with the production. The film follows Yannick as he proceeds to take the actors hostage and have them perform his new and improved version of the play, resulting in a delicious satire exploring the nature of art and what we want from it as audience members. It’s also a deeply satisfying piece of wish fulfilment for anyone who’s had to sit through a honking piece of drama on stage.

The Skinny are delighted to be teaming up with MUBI and will be previewing Yannick for free as part of our CineSkinny Film Club.