Institute Benjamenta
| Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by |
Stephen Quay Timothy Quay |
| Produced by |
Janine Marmot Keith Griffiths |
| Written by | Alan Passes |
| Music by | Lech Jankowski |
| Cinematography | Nick Knowland |
| Edited by | Larry Sider |
| Distributed by | Zeitgeist Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country |
Germany Japan United Kingdom |
| Language |
German English |
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life, released in 1996, was the first feature-length film by the Brothers Quay, produced by Keith Griffiths and Janine Marmot. It is based on Jakob von Gunten, a novel written by Robert Walser. It stars Mark Rylance, Alice Krige, and Gottfried John.
The plot follows Jakob, a young man who enters a school, run by brother and sister Herr and Lisa Benjamenta, which trains servants. The teachers emphasize to the students that they are unimportant people. Jakob finds the school to be an oppressive environment, and does not enjoy the lessons in subservience that he receives. He proceeds to challenge the Benjamentas and attempts to shift their perspectives. Lisa is attracted to Jakob and spends time with him, and shows him the secret labyrinth below the school. Lisa soon dies and after her death the institute closes. Herr Benjamenta and Jakob then leave together.
Though the film follows the same basic structure as the novel, its plot is more limited. The film does not depict the ending of the novel, in which Jakob travels to a nearby city and meets his brother. The film remains almost exclusively focused on the institute once Jakob arrives there.
The Quays have characterized the film as a parallel universe of the novel. The film sometimes makes figurative aspects of the novel into literal objects in the film. One reoccurring theme in the film is that many objects are seen vibrating, such as forks or bells. Parallels have been drawn between these vibrations and the frequent theme of music in Walser's writing. Also, in one passage of the book Jakob describes a staff member at the school as like a monkey, but in the film a literal monkey takes the role of that staff member. In addition, while Jakob wonders about the activities of Herr and Lisa Benjamenta in the novel, the film clearly displays an incestuous relationship. The conclusion of the film, however, differs from the book in a different manner. It shows Herr and Jakob's departure from the institute in surreal scene of the two in a fish bowl rather than Jakob's literal journey back to town in the book.
The film has been described as thematically similar to a fairy tale, a fantasy, or a dream world. Writing in the journal Adaptation, David Sorfa argues that many of the projects of the Brothers Quay discuss the idea that a "metaphysical interior" may exist. Sorfa argues that this film does not attempt to reveal a hidden meaning, but rather argue that a realm of hidden meaning, though unreachable, may exist nonetheless.
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