Institute Benjamenta (Quay Bros)

[pro-bassoonist]

Institute Benjamenta (1995) has received a preliminary release date: March 2010. Courtesy of the British Film Institute.

AmazonUK Pre-order:

Institute Benjamenta


San Francisco Chronicle:

`Institute Benjamenta,'' the first full-length feature by the Brothers Quay, ought to divide people evenly between those who think it's brilliant and those who think it's claptrap.

In either case, the decidedly offbeat movie, opening at the Castro today, will probably seem partly, if not entirely, unfathomable.

But that isn't necessarily the worst thing that could happen to a film as visually fascinating as this one. It has an undeniable black- and-white allure, and occasionally mixes a provocative dreamscape with a brutally repressive atmosphere that imposes the rigors of myth and religion.

It's probably best to know nothing about ``Institute Benjamenta'' before seeing it, so that the Quays' ambitious plunge into fantasy, long silences, weirdly insistent gazes and fairy-tale references come as surprises.

The London-based Brothers Quay (Stephen and Timothy) are known for strange, often eerie animated films (``Street of Crocodile'' and the ``Still Nacht'' quartet are fine examples) that have not been widely distributed but are in vogue among arty cineasts.

``Institute Benjamenta'' is an adaptation of the novella ``Jacob von Gunten'' by Swiss writer Robert Walser, who influenced Franz Kafka. There isn't exactly a tidy, linear plot. The institute is a boarding school for men who want to become servants, but the curriculum consists essentially of one endlessly repeated lesson: self-negation. The students' only goal is to become insignificant.

Jakob, the central character, is played by Mark Rylance (``Angels and Insects''). He is singled out by the harsh headmaster (a frighteningly strange Gottfried John) and his beautiful sister (Alice Krige), who beneath her intimidating exterior is filled with longings for love.

The imagery is rich and enticing, if sometimes puzzling. A room is given to Jakob as a special enticement, but the ceiling is too low for him to stand up. Bells ring, but cannot be heard. Some of the most effective action sequences are mimed, as the students engage in strange rituals of mesmerized swaying.

The film was hauntingly scored by noted Polish composer Lech Jankowski.

Pro-B