Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life (1995)
Synopsis
Jakob arrives at the Institute Benjamenta (run by brother and sister Johannes and Lisa Benjamenta) to learn to become a servant. With seven other men, he studies under Lisa: absurd lessons of movement, drawing circles, and servility. He asks for a better room. No other students arrive and none leave for employment. Johannes is unhappy, imperious, and detached from the school's operation. Lisa is beautiful, at first tightly controlled, then on the verge of breakdown. There's a whiff of incest. Jakob is drawn to Lisa, and perhaps she to him. As winter sets in, she becomes catatonic. Things get worse; Johannes notes that all this has happened since Jakob came. Is there any cause and effect?
Release Date: 1995-08-01
Runtime: 105 minutes
Director: Stephen Quay
Top Cast
- Alice Krige as Lisa Benjamenta
- Mark Rylance as Jakob
- Gottfried John as Herr Benjamenta
- Daniel Smith as Kraus
- Joseph Alessi as Pepino
- Jonathan Stone as Hebling
- César Saratxu as Inigo
- Peter Lovstrom as Jorgenson
- Uri Roodner as Schilinski
- Peter Whitfield as
Soundtrack
Original Music Composer(s):
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