Indoors

Yuval Segal, better known for straightfaced comedy, plays the lead here, as a man in a bind. It appears that a little bad luck in business, or bad judgement, seemed to him like something he could soldier through by himself, without disturbing his wife-- whose relationship with him isn't entirely smooth anyway-- but his debts have got out of hand. Will he have to give up the nice apartment he designed for himself, the very actuality of his success in life? Mostly he holds his distress inside. The demonstrative one is his brother-in-law, played by always credible Danny Steg, representing an alternative mode of behavior that is not necessarily preferable. And there's the protagonist's son, who is also trying to hang onto success-- on the basketball court-- despite unpredictable troubles. In addition, the boy has an embarrassing nervous problem that, in a way, takes us back to writer/director Eitan Green's film of twenty years before, "As Tears Go By."

The film takes place in Jerusalem-- mostly in residential areas that could almost be anywhere in Israel. The absence of the city's special beauty could be said to emphasize how thoroughly the characters are preoccupied by their own heavy personal challenges.

There isn't a whole lot of plot-- mostly just the protagonist trying to believe, like Willy Loman, that he can keep his head above water. There's little cinematic excitement-- no pretty girls, no car chases-- but the visuals are intriguing, with an emphasis on vertical lines to imply a kind of maze especially around the beginning, and the music by Yoni Rechter is an asset. I'd never heard of the movie before it popped up on cable. Apparently it didn't attract many viewers. But if you're interested in a well-acted drama on a modest scale, with a bit of reflection on our fate in the world and how to handle it, Indoors is well worth watching.