Institute Benjamenta

Last updated
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
Institutebenjamenta.jpg
Directed by
Written by
  • Alan Passes
  • Stephen Quay
  • Timothy Quay
Based on Jakob von Gunten
1909 novel by Robert Walser
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNick Knowland
Edited byLarry Sider
Music byLech Jankowski
Production
companies
Distributed by Zeitgeist Films
Release dates
  • August 1995 (1995-08)(Locarno)
  • 13 September 1995 (1995-09-13)(Toronto)
  • 17 November 1995 (1995-11-17)(United Kingdom)
Running time
104 minutes
Countries
  • Germany
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom
Languages

Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life is a 1995 drama film by the brothers Quay in their directorial debut. Based on Robert Walser's novel Jakob von Gunten , the film stars Mark Rylance, Alice Krige and Gottfried John.

Contents

Plot

The plot follows Jakob (Mark Rylance), a young man who enters a school, run by brother and sister Johannes (Gottfried John) and Lisa Benjamenta (Alice Krige), 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 also expresses his strange attraction to Jakob, and the film ends with Jakob agreeing to leave the school and travel together with him.

Cast

Relation to the novel

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. [1]

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. 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. [1]

Themes

The film has been described as thematically similar to a fairy tale, a fantasy, [2] or a dream world. [3] 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. [1]

Ariel Swartley of The New York Times has drawn a comparison between Jakob's efforts to "turn himself into a machine" as a servant and the animation of objects that the Brothers Quay have focused on in their previous stop-motion films. [4] (Institute Benjamenta was their first live-action film). [5] Stephen Quay has said that they sought to convey a similar sense of "otherness" through the actors as they had done through puppets in previous projects. [6] Laura Marks has argued that "non-sentient life seems to take precedence over human life" and that the film includes a "tide of non-human life". [7]

Sorfa contends that the number zero is used as a sort of parody of a MacGuffin in the film. [1]

Reception

The film has been compared to Eraserhead due to its unconventional narrative [8] and black-and-white filming style. [9] Parallels have also been drawn between the film and Expressionist film of the 1920s. Silke Horstkotte has argued that the gestures of the actors and surreal aspects of the school also recall silent film conventions. [10]

The imagery used in the film has been characterized as "befuddling", [8] "puzzling", [2] and "mysterious". [5]

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle said that several scenes featuring miming were particularly well made. [2] Phil Hall of Wired praised what he described as the "marvelous tension" between Rylance and Krige. He also applauded the focused and controlled performances by the rest of the cast. [9] David Sorfa praised Rylance's portrayal of Jakob's emotions as "subtle". [1]

Michael Atkinson praised the film's originality, stating that at times it is comparable to the "inevitable grip of the best David Lynch". He did note that he found the film confusing at times, and characterized it as possessing "Freudian secrecy". He suggests that the film should be seen as a mood, rather than as a narrative. He also lamented that the film saw a limited release [note 1] and would likely only be seen by those who already have an interest in art film. [5] Horstkotte noted that the film's "unusual aesthetic" would be viewed as very unusual to individuals who typically watch Hollywood films. [10]

The Quays themselves later stated that they regretted the length of the film. They suggested that it would have been more effective as a short film or a very long film, rather than average length. [1]

Notes

  1. The film was shown at approximately 50 theaters in the United States in the spring and summer of 1996.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brothers Quay</span> American animators and filmmakers

Stephen and Timothy Quay are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for their work on the play The Chairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Lansbury</span> British and American actress and singer (1925–2022)

Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury was a British and American actress and singer. In a career spanning eighty years, she played various roles across film, stage, and television. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dame Darcy</span> Cartoonist

Darcy Megan Stanger, better known by the pen name Dame Darcy, is an alternative cartoonist, fine artist, musician, cabaret performer, and animator/filmmaker. Her "Neo-Victorian" comic book series Meat Cake was published by Fantagraphics Books from 1993–2008. The Meat Cake Bible compilation was released in June 2016 and nominated for The Eisner Award July 2017. Vegan Love: Dating and Partnering for the Cruelty-Free Gal, with Fashion, Makeup & Wedding Tips, written by Maya Gottfried and illustrated by Dame Darcy, was the Silver Medalist winners of the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Krige</span> South African actress and producer (born 1954)

Alice Maud Krige is a South African actress and producer. Her big break came in 1981, when she starred as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the British historical film Chariots of Fire, and as Eva Galli / Alma Mobley in the American supernatural horror film Ghost Story. She received Laurence Olivier Award for performance in West End theatre production of Arms and the Man (1981) and later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Walser</span> German writer (1927–2023)

Martin Johannes Walser was a German writer, especially known as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for Süddeutscher Rundfunk, where he wrote and directed audio plays. He was part of Group 47 from 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakob Johann von Uexküll</span> Baltic German biologist, zoologist, and philosopher

Jakob Johann Freiherr von Uexküll was a Baltic German biologist who worked in the fields of muscular physiology and animal behaviour studies and was an influence on the cybernetics of life. However, his most notable contribution is the notion of Umwelt, used by semiotician Thomas Sebeok and philosopher Martin Heidegger. His works established biosemiotics as a field of research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Walser</span> Swiss writer (1878–1956)

Robert Walser was a German-speaking Swiss writer. Walser is understood to be the missing link between Heinrich von Kleist and Franz Kafka. As writes Susan Sontag, "at the time [of Walser's writing], it was more likely to be Kafka [who was understood] through the prism of Walser." For example, Robert Musil once referred to Kafka's work as "a peculiar case of the Walser type."

<i>Sleepwalkers</i> (1992 film) 1992 American horror film directed by Mick Garris

Sleepwalkers is a 1992 American horror film written by Stephen King and directed by Mick Garris. The film stars Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick and Alice Krige. The film revolves around the last two survivors of a vampiric shapeshifting species that feed on the life force of human female virgins. It was the first time King wrote a screenplay intended for the screen first, rather than adapting one of his already-existing novels or stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Rylance</span> British actor, playwright and theatre director

Sir David Mark Rylance Waters is an English actor, playwright, and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Olivier Awards, and three Tony Awards. In 2016, he was included in the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. In 2017 he was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna Schygulla</span> German actress and chanson singer (born 1943)

Hanna Schygulla is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German Cinema. Schygulla won the 1979 Berlin Silver Bear for Best Actress for Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, and the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for the Marco Ferreri film The Story of Piera.

Amy Abigail Nuttall is an English actress and singer known for playing Chloe Atkinson in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 2000 until 2005 and housemaid Ethel Parks in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey from 2011 until 2012.

Peter Lilienthal was a German film director, writer, actor and producer. He is most associated with being a liberal director of New German Cinema in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaus Merz</span> Swiss writer

Klaus Merz, is a Swiss writer.

James Phelan is an American writer and literary scholar of narratology. He is a third-generation Neo-Aristotelian literary critic of the Chicago School whose work builds on and refines the work of Wayne C. Booth, with a focus on the rhetorical aspects of narrative. He is Distinguished University Professor of English at the Ohio State University.

Sharpe's Honour is a 1994 British television drama, the fifth of a series screened on the ITV network that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. It is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Bernard Cornwell.

<i>Hidden in America</i> 1996 American TV series or program

Hidden in America is a 1996 American television film about poverty in the United States. The film is directed by Martin Bell and stars Beau Bridges, Bruce Davison, and Alice Krige. Bridges plays Bill Januson, a father struggling to support his family and whose pride and optimism prevent him from seeking help until it is too late. Bridges was nominated for multiple awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy Award. The film aired on December 1, 1996 on Showtime and was released to DVD on February 8, 2005.

Jakob von Gunten. Ein Tagebuch is a novel by Swiss writer Robert Walser, first published in German in 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Place</span> Historic thoroughfare in the Marylebone district of London, England

Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to the BBC's headquarters Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Institute of British Architects and numerous residential mansion blocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gert Haucke</span> German actor (1929–2008)

Gert Haucke (1929–2008) was a German film and television actor.

Janine Marmot is a British film producer and founder of Hot Property Films. She is best known for the BAFTA-winning documentary Bodysong and the relationship drama Kelly + Victor, which won the Outstanding British Debut BAFTA award in 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sorfa, David (2011). "The Illusory Architext of the Institute Benjamenta". Adaptation. 5: 1–14. doi:10.1093/adaptation/apr005.
  2. 1 2 3 Stack, Peter (May 31, 1996). "An 'Institute' of the Weird". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  3. Buchan 2011, p. 272
  4. Swartley, Ariel (July 25, 1999). "FILM; From Identical Twins, a Story of Two Conjoined". The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Atkinston, Michael (April 1996). "Sights Unseen". SPIN. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  6. Helms, Colin (May 1996). "Institute Quay". CMJ New Music Monthly. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  7. Marks 2005, p. 126
  8. 1 2 Vice, Jeff (November 26, 1996). "Institute Benjamenta". Deseret News. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  9. 1 2 Hall, Phil (March 1996). "Head of the Class". Wired. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Horstkotte 2009, p. 186

Bibliography