Review of In the Courtyard (2014) by Maik N — 22 Aug 2016

The movie's topic is depression. The mood of the movie catches really good the emptyness that everyone who has suffered from depression can relate to. It is shown in the good acting of the protagonist, Antoine, who expresses as little emotions as possible.

Also the music does good to that mood, mainly because there is hardly no music at all. And if there is music it is underlining the emptyness or pain of the situation really good (An emotional piano or a distorted synthesizer).

Funny passages are mixed with numb and depressed scenes which gives the movie a kind of funny absurdity. All in all the movie made me feel good. That is because Antoine is someone I can sympathize with and he tries to become positive and help people.

I think the movie is also about understanding and listening to each other instead of silencing our problems and becoming lonely. It is uplifting and realistic at the same time.