Rating: 
Summary: feast for your eyes
Review: I just rented this and watched it last night. Frankly I couldn't find much of a coherent plot. Some of the images were cool and some of the lines were interesting but I couldn't feel anything for any of the characters. Each character was too strange and too distant to relate to on any level. Perhaps that was the feeling the Brothers Quay was shooting for. I was hoping for a challenging commentary on domestic service at the end of the 19th century with neat animation as the movie write-up suggested: didn't get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not nearly what I was hoping for
Review: I just rented this and watched it last night. Frankly I couldn't find much of a coherent plot. Some of the images were cool and some of the lines were interesting but I couldn't feel anything for any of the characters. Each character was too strange and too distant to relate to on any level. Perhaps that was the feeling the Brothers Quay was shooting for. I was hoping for a challenging commentary on domestic service at the end of the 19th century with neat animation as the movie write-up suggested: didn't get it.
Rating: 
Summary: "QUAY-SEE, Indeed!"
Review: I know, bit of a stretch for a title, but this one's another odd fish! Now what else would you expect? The prologue, spoken by the stunning Alice Krige [she makes far too few appearances] is in Afrikaans if anyone wondered.....not Dutch or German.It's a slow mood-piece about a servant school; [our hero Jacob, Mark Rylance] is the new student - also the focus of Brother and Sister Johann and Lisa Benjamenta. There are 'very odd moments' between brother, sister and student, including a rather peculiar scene between Johan and Jacob.......no QUITE sure what that is about. The work resonates David Lynch, yet the Brothers Quay do have their own little world. [Then again for some strange reason Mel Brooks/Gene Wilder's "Young Frankenstein" - the Frau Blucher moments......] This one's a long process - intentionally repetitive.
A little liquid refreshment [spiritual] might add to this journey. Companion pieces? "Eraserhead" and "Begotten"
Rating: 
Summary: It could be considered "paintings caught in celluloid"...
Review: I recently bought the DVD of the Quay brother's INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, or THIS DREAM PEOPLE CALL LIFE. I bought it purely on reviews, which praised its expressionist B & W cinematography and bizarre nature. To be honest, I've bought many film because of high praise from a dozen or so reviewers and found the films somewhat boring, e.g., THE VIRGIN SUICIDE, GHOST WORLD, etc. Yes, I know I'm a heretic. But German expressionism is a special interest of mine and so I decided to take a chance, preparing to curse my vulnerability to persuasion if I was disappointed. The film starred Alice Krige (most famous as the Borg queen in STAR TREK, FIRST CONTACT and Mark Rylance, best known for playing William in ANGELS AND INSECTS. This time the reviewers led me to a fine film. Bizarre, to be sure, and much like ERASERHEAD, with a decided noirish atmosphere. The story concerns a man who applies to a school for servant and learns, through a series of classes, to totally subordinate his ego to the will of an employer. Alice Krige is the sister of the headmaster, who is the catalyst for revolutionary changes------------or is she? The film may be about man's relationship to the State, revolution, class structure, obedience, or a few other things. The expressionist atmosphere is thick enough to choke on and the possibilities of what's really going on may be as much a puzzle as MULLHOLLAND DRIVE. If you have a taste for the strange, like noir or expressionism in B & W, or found ERASERHEAD intellectually engaging, you might like to try this film. Jay F.
Rating:
Summary: Breaks New Ground In Modern Expressionism And Film Noir
Review: I recently bought the DVD of the Quay brother's INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, or THIS DREAM PEOPLE CALL LIFE. I bought it purely on reviews, which praised its expressionist B & W cinematography and bizarre nature. To be honest, I've bought many film because of high praise from a dozen or so reviewers and found the films somewhat boring, e.g., THE VIRGIN SUICIDE, GHOST WORLD, etc. Yes, I know I'm a heretic. But German expressionism is a special interest of mine and so I decided to take a chance, preparing to curse my vulnerability to persuasion if I was disappointed. The film starred Alice Krige (most famous as the Borg queen in STAR TREK, FIRST CONTACT and Mark Rylance, best known for playing William in ANGELS AND INSECTS. This time the reviewers led me to a fine film. Bizarre, to be sure, and much like ERASERHEAD, with a decided noirish atmosphere. The story concerns a man who applies to a school for servant and learns, through a series of classes, to totally subordinate his ego to the will of an employer. Alice Krige is the sister of the headmaster, who is the catalyst for revolutionary changes------------or is she? The film may be about man's relationship to the State, revolution, class structure, obedience, or a few other things. The expressionist atmosphere is thick enough to choke on and the possibilities of what's really going on may be as much a puzzle as MULLHOLLAND DRIVE. If you have a taste for the strange, like noir or expressionism in B & W, or found ERASERHEAD intellectually engaging, you might like to try this film. Jay F.
Rating:
Summary: Breaks New Ground In Modern Expressionism And Film Noir
Review: I recently bought the DVD of the Quay brother's INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, or THIS DREAM PEOPLE CALL LIFE. I bought it purely on reviews, which praised its expressionist B & W cinematography and bizarre nature. To be honest, I've bought many film because of high praise from a dozen or so reviewers and found the films somewhat boring, e.g., THE VIRGIN SUICIDE, GHOST WORLD, etc. Yes, I know I'm a heretic. But German expressionism is a special interest of mine and so I decided to take a chance, preparing to curse my vulnerability to persuasion if I was disappointed. The film starred Alice Krige (most famous as the Borg queen in STAR TREK, FIRST CONTACT and Mark Rylance, best known for playing William in ANGELS AND INSECTS. This time the reviewers led me to a fine film. Bizarre, to be sure, and much like ERASERHEAD, with a decided noirish atmosphere. The story concerns a man who applies to a school for servant and learns, through a series of classes, to totally subordinate his ego to the will of an employer. Alice Krige is the sister of the headmaster, who is the catalyst for revolutionary changes------------or is she? The film may be about man's relationship to the State, revolution, class structure, obedience, or a few other things. The expressionist atmosphere is thick enough to choke on and the possibilities of what's really going on may be as much a puzzle as MULLHOLLAND DRIVE. If you have a taste for the strange, like noir or expressionism in B & W, or found ERASERHEAD intellectually engaging, you might like to try this film. Jay F.
Rating:
Summary: Another 2 cents...
Review: I sought to obtain this film for my collection almost immediately after seeing it. I cannot give it enough praise. I was quite drawn into the 'perfumery' mythology the Brothers had created for this translation of Walser's work. Of course this mythology has a framework all its own, but is seamlessly fused with the story. Although I have yet to see the rest of the (stille nacht) series, it appears they had built the foundation of the visual largely from their previous pieces "Stille Nacht"(1988) and "The Comb". The photography and animation, as always, commands the highest respect. Some may have difficulty appreciating the dialoge in this film, but I for one thought it was delivered flawlessly; the unstable vibration in Jakobs voice, the side-saddle yet wanting manner of Lisa...I have no clue as to the extent of engineering that went into the voice track, but it exhibits a clever aesthetic nonetheless. The soundtrack is spectacular, not only according to its own merit, but also how closely it embraces the ambience and imagery of the film. Lech Jankowski is quite skilled as a composer, and I look forward to hearing more of his work.
Rating:
Summary: Another 2 cents...
Review: I sought to obtain this film for my collection almost immediately after seeing it. I cannot give it enough praise. I was quite drawn into the 'perfumery' mythology the Brothers had created for this translation of Walser's work. Of course this mythology has a framework all its own, but is seamlessly fused with the story. Although I have yet to see the rest of the (stille nacht) series, it appears they had built the foundation of the visual largely from their previous pieces "Stille Nacht"(1988) and "The Comb". The photography and animation, as always, commands the highest respect. Some may have difficulty appreciating the dialoge in this film, but I for one thought it was delivered flawlessly; the unstable vibration in Jakobs voice, the side-saddle yet wanting manner of Lisa...I have no clue as to the extent of engineering that went into the voice track, but it exhibits a clever aesthetic nonetheless. The soundtrack is spectacular, not only according to its own merit, but also how closely it embraces the ambience and imagery of the film. Lech Jankowski is quite skilled as a composer, and I look forward to hearing more of his work.
Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly Beautiful
Review: If you appreciate the Quay Brothers and have a facination for David Lynch you will love this video. Filled with poetic imagery, and filmed in beautiful black and white, Institute Benjamenta tells a short story of life within the bleak walls of a school for servants. As surreal as they come with a touch of Eraserhead. I found it hauntingly beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: The very best I ever saw
Review: in black and white....How fascinating the light lies like water on Ms Benjamenta's face (first scene) and later flows golden from her mouth...Jacob van Gunten compared to a monkey and soon afterwards to a hart...Wonderful...Mystical...This is a movie you may watch, and then watch and watch and still enjoy it like the fairy tales of your childhood, only now they are filled with erotic implications. Funny moments in between. The right thing to buy and not only rent...I saw it quite often and still know not to have digested all seemingly meaningless meaningful details..The Robert Walser books are so delightful, too, much better than Kafka, who was rather influenced by Walser. Very precious never ending entertainment!
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