Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life (1995) on Netflix
Jakob arrives at the Institute Benjamenta, a servant school run by the siblings Johannes and Lisa, to learn subservience. He finds the lessons oppressive and challenges the Benjamentas.
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- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.0/102,211 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Institute Benjamenta is a school where young men are trained to become servants; Jakob is its newest pupil. The siblings Johannes and Lisa Benjamenta run the place. Seven other pupils share the lessons: movement drills, drawing circles, and instruction in servility that teaches the students they count for nothing. Jakob asks for a better room, dislikes the subservience, and sets out to change how the Benjamentas see things. Johannes, the brother, is imperious, dissatisfied, and takes little part in running the school. Lisa, who teaches the class, is beautiful and tightly controlled. Jakob is drawn to her. No further students enroll, and none of the pupils leave for a post.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life (1995)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film turns figurative aspects of the novel into literal objects: a staff member the book describes as "like a monkey" becomes a literal monkey, and objects such as forks and bells are seen vibrating.
- Institute Benjamenta was the Brothers Quay's first live-action film, after the stop-motion animation they had worked in previously.
- Stephen Quay said the brothers aimed to get the same "otherness" from their actors as they had from the puppets of their previous stop-motion projects.
