Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
1995 · 1h 45m · Drama, Mystery · Germany, Japan · Rated 14A (CA)
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?
The TMDB rating, pulled toward the movie average (6.03) as if it had 82 extra average votes. Few votes means more pull.
50 TMDB votes · IMDb page
Trailer
Rate what worked
0 of 5 ratedWhere to watch
Where each service has it
Streaming data by JustWatch, via TMDB. Links open the JustWatch listing for United States.
Style & content
Keywords from TMDB.