In the Courtyard deals with two aspects of life: firstly, the nature of depression as it is undramatically and quietly experienced by people in reality, and secondly, the peculiar politics of the traditional Parisian concierge-tenant arrangement. The two elements mesh through a diffident and troubled man who takes on the job of caretaker, seeking to be left in peace, which of course the residents will not allow him. He forms a friendship along the way with a manic retired woman, played by the ageless Catherine Deneuve, and various other misfits.
The tone of the film is only gently comic, unlike the broader strokes in Salvadori's previous black comedy and screwball work: the focus is more on picking out the ludicrosities in people's everyday behaviour than going for out-and-out laughs, probably forced in part by a perceived need to tread softly around a sensitive subject. In truth, little happens and that includes in terms of insights, but it's an honest and mature piece all the same.
6/10
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