INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, OR This Dream People Call Human Life (director/writer:The Brothers Quay; screenwriter: Alan Passes/from texts by Robert Walser; cinematographer: Nicholas Knowland; cast: Mark Rylance (Jakob), Gottfried John (Johannes), Daniel Smith (Kraus), Alice Krige (Lisa), 1995-GB)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Strange is the norm for this exquisitely made first full-length live action feature from the American-born (they work in London) identical twins, Stephen and Timothy Quay, who have previously achieved cult status for their animation films. This dream-like fantasy film, probably a fairytale story gone amok, filmed in the style of German Expressionism ala "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," and most reflective of a Kafkaesque type of story depicting a man trapped by absurd circumstances and his mistrust of society, as the film sets a nightmarish tone. It is loosely based on the novella 'Jakob Von Gunten' by the Swiss author Robert Walser.
The Institute Benjamenta is a boarding school for servants, where the lessons are taught by the siblings, the eccentric despot Johannes Benjamenta (Gottfried John) and the fragile beauty, Lisa Benjamenta (Alice Krige). She teaches by being repetitive to the point of being ridiculous and surreal, as the course of study consists of repeating the lesson over and over, such as the lesson in setting the dining table, as ritualistically the would-be servants keep repeating in unison what their ethereal teacher tells them, as she paces back and forth in front of the blackboard holding onto a pointer made of a deer foot. There are deer antlers that hang on the walls and pine cones and needles on the floors of the classroom. The use of deer must hold some symbolic meaning to the story, but I would only be guessing as to exactly what.The lessons take place in a dilapidated building, with a creepy looking and uninviting interior, setting the claustrophobic atmosphere the film thrives on. The ceilings in the student's rooms are too low to stand up in (ala Dr. Caligari).
The film follows its story through the eyes of Jakob von Gunten (Mark Rylance), who is first seen knocking on the school's door and looking through the peephole at a monkey, as he is about to enroll. He states that he came to this place-which seems to be cut off in time and location from the rest of the world- looking for a chance to be of service to someone in this life. He will remain here until the school crumbles, as it seems to be coming to a slow but sure end, as the director announces no more students will be taken in after Jakob.
What is the reality of life if everything can be turned upside down and what does reality mean, might be some of the things the film is questioning, that is, if one were looking for a theme to this intriguing tale, filmed in a grainy black-and-white monochrome, which added to the film's evocative mood. Another theme might be the Jesus motif, of how can one be like Christ, a humble servant, in a society that craves order and for people to know their place in that order. Jakob asks, "Is there anything Jesus could do for us in this world?" The answer seems to be, become a servant.
The film succeeds in being a hypnotic work of much visual merit, that is different in scope and in intention than other films, probably defying classification into a type of genre it belongs to. There is hardly any dialogue, and the sparse dialogue that is there, does not seem to be that pertinent to the story, as the actors recite their lines as if they were puppets on a string being manipulated by the Quays. The sister asks, at one point, "Am I living in a fairy tale?"
But it is the aesthetics that seem to count for what are the dramatics of the film. Its story of the high and the low in status, each accepting unconditionally their place in society are examined in a most bizarre fashion in the student's and his master's mannerisms, as all the repressed students who willingly serve at their master's discretion go through their eerie robotic movements, and the story has the look of a spellbinding fairytale.
What is also shown, is how twisted and sexually repressed the siblings are, him in need of Jakob as his confidante and slave, showing how fearful he is of life, while she is caressing Jakob's cheeks as if to comfort herself, but it could also be a tabu romantic gesture toward Jakob, indicating their separation is due to class differences. And, of the eight students, Kraus (Daniel Smith) stands out as one wholly accepting of the arrangement of servant and master, accepting without a peep of protest the school's dehumanization policy.
The film runs its course with alternating moods of exhileration and tedium, but proves itself to be visually stimulating overall, with every scene showing the contrasts between the light and dark of life. There was also the memorable weird scene in the beginning of the film, where a face appears distorted through a goldfish bowl.
At the film's conclusion, Jakob questions what he has learned, if he has really become insignificant, implying that instead of things being a mystery, such as the face in the gold fish bowl, knowing about things can be attained by doing what is habitual, as when Kraus teaches him how to clean the bowl, which is enough for him to learn.
What it all means is subject to one's imagination (so much of the film is purposely left unclear), as Jakob wrestles with whether he should rescue Lisa from her melancholy life. But, this unsettling film is, nevertheless, diverting in a positive intellectual way, even as it is subject to much speculative interpretation. You can look at it as a visionary poem or as an allegory on life, either way, the film is original and stimulating, if one can take the very slow pace of its camera work and its tenor of dull melancholy and its inconclusiveness into proper consideration.
The film was stylishly scored by Polish composer Lech Jankowski.
REVIEWED ON 11/15/99 GRADE: B+
Dennis Schwartz: " Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
ozus@sover.net
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews