The Courtyard
5.9
The first feature of Lithuanian Valdas Navasaitis is a drama which unravels the hopeless 1970s, when people were deprived of their roots and forced to sit and watch their lives slip from their fingers. In a decrepit house that once belonged to a bourgeois family, several families seek shelter. Senis, a 65-year-old alcoholic, lives on the ground floor with his wife and their 16-year-old daughter. Senis is a survivor of the Nazis as well as the communist camps. He drowns the pain of his memories in a nearby pub and in talking to a depressed young laborer, Lorenca. Later on, a young couple and a lonely eccentric who enjoys only his cat's company join the inhabitants. Children wile away the time with useless games or spying on adults. When Lorenca hangs himself at the ruins of a nearby factory, the lives are shaken up. During the dinner held for the deceased, they find a moment of common hope.
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Cast
10 people
Donatas Banionis
The old man
Known for
Solaris
Beware of the Car!
Ričardas Vitkaitis
Lorencas
Also in
Motherland
Seneca's Day
Albinas Keleris
Vladas
Also in
Whiskey on the Rocks
Damned
Tatyana Lyutaeva
Elvyra
Known for
Wolfhound of the Grey Dog Clan
Lucky Trouble
Rasa Samuolytė
Veronika
Also in
Whisper of Sin
Nova Lituania
Jūratė Aniulytė
Old man's wife
Also in
The Fortress of Sleeping Butterflies
Пробуждение
Pranas Dapshkauskas
The boy with long hair
No other roles listed
Eglė Mikulionytė
Lorenca's wife
Also in
Miracle
Royal Mob
Vytautas Serys
Rygertas
Also in
A Horse Thief's Daughter
Markizas ir piemenaitė
Dalia Michelevičiūtė
Woman
Also in
Defiance
Lilyhammer
Valdas Navasaitis Director · Rimvydas Leipus Cinematographer Mingailė Murmulaitienė Editor
First release May 20, 1999 · Produced in Lithuania, France · Languages Lithuanian, Russian
Production
Studio Uljana Kim
Production
Les Films de L'Observatoire
Production
ARTE France Cinéma
Production
Lithuania · France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Kiemas
Original language
Lithuanian
Spoken on screen
Lithuanian · Russian
Release dates
France · May 20, 1999
Premiere · Cannes Film Festival
No release date listed for United States.
France
March 8, 2000 · Theatrical
Netherlands
October 19, 2000 · Theatrical
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