IN THE COURTYARD/DANS LE COUR

France, 2014, 97 minutes, Colour.
Catherine Deneuve, Gustave Kervern, Feodor Atkine.
Directed by Pierre Salvadori.

In the Courtyard is one of those idiosyncratic French films, a portrait of off-beat characters.

Gustave Kervern is Antoine, suffering some kind of breakdown and unable to play with his musical group. He goes searching for a job, is helped by a woman in the office and becomes a kind of concierge, supervisor, cleaner at an apartment block.

There are all kinds of eccentrics in the block and Antoine does his best to help, a man who needs his large dog minded, a young man hoarding bicycles which he sells, a blind man who is read to…

One of the main attractions is Catherine Deneuve (at a beautiful 70), who lives upstairs with her husband. At first, she seems hyperactive and worried, giving a great deal of her time to charity. She is very strong in urging that Antoine be hired, despite her husband’s wariness, but throws a pear at Antoine as he hoses the Courtyard bruising him. She tries to be agreeable, but it looks as though she is losing it, clashing with her husband, and asks to stay with Antoine for a couple of days to recover.

There are a number of complications, and enjoyment will depend on how well the variety of characters engage audience attention and empathy.

1. A light film with serious touches? French interest, French style, characters? Idiosyncratic touches?

2. The Paris settings, the building, the rooms, corridors, the courtyard and its many aspects? Musical score?

3. The credibility of the plot, the characters, depression, reliance on others, despair and hope?

4. The title, the building, Antoine and his job, in the courtyard, hosing it, the storing of the bicycles, the other members of the apartment block, with the model building, with the dog, the various requests?

5. Antoine as a character, depression, unable to play in the music group, looking for a job, the woman helping him, the form, going to the interview, Serge and his seeing through him, Mathilde and her charities, busy on the phone, wanting to hire him, Serge agreeing?

6. Antoine settling in, his room, his belongings, the drugs? His needing to sleep? Morose? The later visit from his wife and his inability to return?

7. The various jobs, hosing, Mathilde throwing the pear and the bruise, cleaning up, the issue of the bicycles?

8. The various characters in the building, the blind man and Mathilde reading to him, and Antoine reading? The man wanting the model of the building to be housed, the dog chewing it, reconstructing? The man with the dog, the dog lumbering, Antoine finally refusing? The man with the bikes, storing them, selling, rental on the roof? His friendship with Antoine, the drugs?

9. Serge, concern for his wife, interest in Antoine? Mathilde, her growing desperate, eccentric behaviour, the charities, relying on Antoine, the crack in the wall, papering over, her scraping the wall? Her wanting to stay with Antoine for several days? Her depression?

10. Antoine, the drugs, his collapse, the ambulance, trying to revive him, his death?

11. The effect on Mathilde, search, the others?

12. Antoine as a sad comic character?