INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, OR THIS DREAM PEOPLE CALL HUMAN LIFE (1995), dir. Stephen and Timothy Quay
Visually, visually, visually, visually, life is but…
The movie is a dream about a school. In turn, the school—a place of madmen; of dull, repetitive work; of inevitable losses and disappointments—is a metaphor for life itself.
Or perhaps I am taking "Institute Benjamenta" too seriously. Or too literally. After all, if the movie is a dream, the dreamer, whom we hear speaking and see sleeping in the opening shots, is a woman who speaks a language other than English. All the characters in the dream, meanwhile, speak English. Also, the central protagonist of the dream is a man.
No, I don’t think this movie is meant to be interpreted on a literal level. It’s much easier, and much better, to treat the movie for what it is. Let the dream play itself out. Marvel at the strange sights and sounds conjured up by the Brothers Quay.
On a visual and auditory level, the filmmakers succeed in creating a world that looks, moves, and defies reality as only dreams can. The students of the titular "school" engage in inexplicable routines, choreographed like dances, wherein they do things like eat their meals after a series of ritualistic motions, and sway side-to-side while reciting informative dialogue such as, "I have rescued the cat from the tall tree, sir." These scenes feel unreal. Slow-motion editing, soft focus lenses, and the use of music in lieu of dialogue only enhance the somnambulistic effect.
At one point, characters disappear into the darkness of a chalkboard, which turns out to be a tunnel. The Institute itself is a compelling collection of oddly-angled rooms, freak exhibits, and labyrinths where giant drawings have been painted across entire walls.
Yes, the "Institute Benjamenta" is a dream. But that does not mean everything we see here has to be beautiful. Dreams can be populated with monstrosities, too, like the half-deer minotaur that appears like a feverish vision to Jakob (Mark Rylance), our hapless protagonist.
Jakob applies to the "Institute Benjamenta" because he sees no great future for himself. He wants to be of service to somebody, and the school is well-known for producing servants and other men who amount to little. Accepted into the school, Jakob endures the same lesson taught every day, over and over again (Jakob never explicitly states what the lesson is, only that they must learn it. Perhaps the lesson is a Macguffin; during a classroom scene, non-specific jargon like "Order is the first law of God" can be seen written on a chalkboard).
When Jakob breaks under the strain of monotony and harsh living conditions, the Institute’s principals, Herr Benjamenta (Gottfried John), and Frau Benjamenta (Alice Krige) house him in closer proximity to their persons. Jakob becomes their confidant, and witnesses his masters’ deteriorating relationship. The Frau’s health begins to fail as a result of her partner’s (Are they brother and sister? Husband and wife? Like the famous "one lesson," the movie never spells things out explicitly) emotional withdrawal. Since the school is inextricably tied to them, Jakob resolves to be the best possible servant to Frau Benjamenta, in a bid to keep it alive.
This probably sounds like the makings of a great movie. Unfortunately, the characters are a little too thin, and that includes Jakob, who only seems to exist in the extremes of anxiety and melancholy. Never lacking in personality, however, are "Institute Benjamenta’s" otherworldly black-and-white visuals and off-key tone. There’s a certain fittingness to that. After all, whoever woke from a fascinating dream and said, "What amazing dimension those characters in my sleep had!"
Overall rating: ** (out of ****)
The movie is a dream about a school. In turn, the school—a place of madmen; of dull, repetitive work; of inevitable losses and disappointments—is a metaphor for life itself.
Or perhaps I am taking "Institute Benjamenta" too seriously. Or too literally. After all, if the movie is a dream, the dreamer, whom we hear speaking and see sleeping in the opening shots, is a woman who speaks a language other than English. All the characters in the dream, meanwhile, speak English. Also, the central protagonist of the dream is a man.
No, I don’t think this movie is meant to be interpreted on a literal level. It’s much easier, and much better, to treat the movie for what it is. Let the dream play itself out. Marvel at the strange sights and sounds conjured up by the Brothers Quay.
On a visual and auditory level, the filmmakers succeed in creating a world that looks, moves, and defies reality as only dreams can. The students of the titular "school" engage in inexplicable routines, choreographed like dances, wherein they do things like eat their meals after a series of ritualistic motions, and sway side-to-side while reciting informative dialogue such as, "I have rescued the cat from the tall tree, sir." These scenes feel unreal. Slow-motion editing, soft focus lenses, and the use of music in lieu of dialogue only enhance the somnambulistic effect.
At one point, characters disappear into the darkness of a chalkboard, which turns out to be a tunnel. The Institute itself is a compelling collection of oddly-angled rooms, freak exhibits, and labyrinths where giant drawings have been painted across entire walls.
Yes, the "Institute Benjamenta" is a dream. But that does not mean everything we see here has to be beautiful. Dreams can be populated with monstrosities, too, like the half-deer minotaur that appears like a feverish vision to Jakob (Mark Rylance), our hapless protagonist.
Jakob applies to the "Institute Benjamenta" because he sees no great future for himself. He wants to be of service to somebody, and the school is well-known for producing servants and other men who amount to little. Accepted into the school, Jakob endures the same lesson taught every day, over and over again (Jakob never explicitly states what the lesson is, only that they must learn it. Perhaps the lesson is a Macguffin; during a classroom scene, non-specific jargon like "Order is the first law of God" can be seen written on a chalkboard).
When Jakob breaks under the strain of monotony and harsh living conditions, the Institute’s principals, Herr Benjamenta (Gottfried John), and Frau Benjamenta (Alice Krige) house him in closer proximity to their persons. Jakob becomes their confidant, and witnesses his masters’ deteriorating relationship. The Frau’s health begins to fail as a result of her partner’s (Are they brother and sister? Husband and wife? Like the famous "one lesson," the movie never spells things out explicitly) emotional withdrawal. Since the school is inextricably tied to them, Jakob resolves to be the best possible servant to Frau Benjamenta, in a bid to keep it alive.
This probably sounds like the makings of a great movie. Unfortunately, the characters are a little too thin, and that includes Jakob, who only seems to exist in the extremes of anxiety and melancholy. Never lacking in personality, however, are "Institute Benjamenta’s" otherworldly black-and-white visuals and off-key tone. There’s a certain fittingness to that. After all, whoever woke from a fascinating dream and said, "What amazing dimension those characters in my sleep had!"
Overall rating: ** (out of ****)
Labels: **, 90's, Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay
posted by Phil | 8:40 PM
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