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Movie Info & Details
Release Year1995
Runtime1h 45m
LanguageAfrikaans
CertificationNR
GenresDrama
Votes49
DirectorStephen Quay, Timothy Quay
WritersTimothy Quay, Alan Passes, Stephen Quay
TypeFeature Film
Rating7.6 out of 10
Cast10 credited
Also Known AsInstitute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
About Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
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?
Directed by Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay, Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life leans on a strong ensemble — Alice Krige, Mark Rylance, Gottfried John — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1995.
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