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 (Mark Rylance), a young man who enters a school, run by brother and sister Herr (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 and Jakob then leave together.
When Jakob (Mark Rylance) attends the Institute Benjamenta to learn the ways of servitude, his dream quickly takes on nightmarish qualities. Lisa (Alice Krige), one of the headmasters, is an intriguing beauty whom Jakob feels attracted to, but she seems emotionally unstable. Meanwhile, Lisa's brother (Gottfried John) is entirely distracted from the school's operations, and no new students ever arrive. The work is tedious, and the situation worsens when Lisa falls into a catatonic state.
Initial release: August 1995
Directors: Timothy Quay, Stephen Quay
Music composed by: Lech Jankowski
Screenplay: Timothy Quay, Stephen Quay, Robert Walser, Alan Passes
Awards: Bronze Horse
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