Search

Institute Benjamenta

1995, Movie, NR, 105 mins

Institute Benjamenta: Review

INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA
starstarstarstar
Brilliantly executed and typically inscrutable, this feature debut of The Brothers Quay will delight fans of the enigmatic duo's "re-animated" shorts, though others may find the pervasive murk and funereal pace off-putting. Jakob von Gunten (Mark Rylance) enrolls at the titular training school for servants, a moribund pile run by despotic headmaster Herr Benjamenta (Fassbinder favorite Gottfried John) and his seemingly bewitched sister Lisa (Alice Krige). Once engaged in the Institute's bizarre curriculum (there is only one, endlessly repeated lesson and much of the day is spent performing ludicrous exercises involving forks and napkins), Jakob becomes increasingly aware of the self-destructive desires implicit in the master/servant relationship. Beautifully shot in pearly black-and-white, the Quays' first live-action film effectively inverts their previous work with stop-motion puppets -- here, human beings are quite deliberately reduced to automata. leave a comment
Advertisement

Advertisement

Related Websites

You might be also interested in the following websites:

Most Popular TV Shows

  1. Dancing with the Stars
  2. The Game
  3. NCIS
  4. American Idol
  5. Wife Swap
more popular tv shows

Most Popular Celebrities

  1. Tiger Woods
  2. Pamela Bach
  3. Heidi Klum
  4. Jake Gyllenhaal
  5. Reese Witherspoon
more popular celebrities

Most Popular Movies

  1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
  2. The Blind Side
  3. 2012
  4. Old Dogs
  5. A Christmas Carol
more popular movies

Top Videos

  1. The View
  2. Nip/Tuck
  3. V
  4. NCIS
  5. Family Guy
more top videos