INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA
SYNOPSIS
Jakob arrives at the Institute Benjamenta (run by brother and sister Johannes and Lisa Benjamenta) to learn to become a servant. He studies absurd lessons of movement, drawing circles, and servility. No other students arrive and none leave for employment. 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?
DIRECTOR | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay |
YEAR | 1994 |
STATUS | completed |
CAST | Mark Rylance Alice Krige Gottfried John Daniel Smith Joseph Alessi Jonathan Stone César Saracho Peter Lovstrom Uri Roodner Peter Withfield |
CO PRODUCTION WITH | Image Forum Konick Studios Pandora Film |
SUPPORTED BY | |
WORLD SALES | Films 4 Limited (London) |
GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR | Pandora Film / Kinowelt |
LENGTH | 104 min. |
FORMAT | black/white 35mm 1:1:85 Mono |
SHOOTING LOCATION | UK |
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE | English |
PRODUCERS | Keith Griffiths Karl Baumgartner Janine Marmot Katsue Tomiyama |
WRITERS | Alan Passes Stephen Quay Timothy Quay(based on the novel "Jakob von Gunten" by Robert Walser) |
CASTING | Irene Lamb |
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | Nicholas D. Knowland |
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT | Finn McGrath Jez Murell Mary Soan (assistant directors) |
EDITING | Larry Sider |
MUSIC | Lech Jankowski |
SOUND | Peter Glossop Larry Sider |
ART DIRECTION | Jennifer Kernke (production designer) Alison Riva (art director) |
COSTUMES | Nicky Gillbrand |
MAKE UP HAIR | Suzie Zamit |
SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE | n/s |
DVD VIDEO AVAILABLE | yes |
LINKS | n/s |