Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life

1080p 104 min 1995 Published on, 1 year ago

7.7

Jakob arrives at the Institute Benjamenta (run by brother and sister Johannes and Lisa Benjamenta) to learn to become a servant. With seven other men, he studies under Lisa: absurd lessons of movement, drawing circles, and servility. He asks for a better room. No other students arrive and none leave for employment. Johannes is unhappy, imperious, and detached from the school's operation. Lisa is beautiful, at first tightly controlled, then on the verge of breakdown. There's a whiff of incest. Jakob is drawn to Lisa, and perhaps she to him. As winter sets in, she becomes catatonic. Things get worse; Johannes notes that all this has happened since Jakob came. Is there any cause and effect?

Country

Germany

Genre

Drama

Released

01 Aug, 1995

Main Cast

Alice Krige , Mark Rylance , Gottfried John , César Saratxu , Uri Roodner