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Released by: BFI
Released on: May 17, 2010.
Director: The Quay Brothers
Cast: Gottfried John, Alice Krige
Year: 1995
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The Movie:
The first feature length live action film from The Quay Brothers is named after the titular institute where the film takes place. Located somewhere in Europe (the film hints that it might be Germany), this decaying and rundown old building is home to a school that trains men to work as butlers for a variety of well to do clients. A man named Jakob von Gunten (Mark Rylance) enrolls in the school, feeling that he would make a good servant for someone some day, and soon joins the small class of students studying at the school.
The school is run by Herr Benjamenta (Gottfried John) and his sister, Lisa (Alice Krige), a pair of disciplinarians who teach the students using some ritualistic and very unorthodox measures. As Jakob acclimates to his new life, Lisa begins to show an unusual attraction to him while Herr Benjamenta starts to seem more and more unhinged, all while Jakob begins discovering the truth about the school's unusual past and how it all ties in with what he's going through.
Beautifully shot in black and white with all manner of filters and visual trickery employed, Institute Benjamenta is a gorgeous film to watch. The story is odd and at times meandering but fans of surrealism should appreciate what The Quay Brothers have accomplished here. The performances are quirky enough that the characters stand out and the script is tense enough in spots that it will hold your interest but really, more than anything else, it's the visuals that make this strange little film as interesting as it is.
Much of the film plays out as a macabre fairy tale, what with the dark forest surrounding the lone building and the mysterious brother and sister team running the show, and like many fairy tales before they were watered down and made safe, things don't always end on a happy note. The imagery here, while not quite horror movie territory, gets very dark and eerie and there's a really strange feeling about the whole production that can get under your skin at times.
The movie also mixes up a lot of different symbolism and religious imagery resulting in a picture that is as ripe with metaphors as it is with painterly compositions. Much of what this all means and why it's included in the first place is left up to the viewer to decide and this isn't a film that spells everything out for its audience, but there is very definitely a method to the madness on display. Much of the religious symbolism is easy enough to figure out while the visual nods to early German horror films like Nosferatu and The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari make it clear where much of the influence came for this wholly impressive film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON A TEST DISC AND MAY NOT REPRESENT FINISHED, RETAIL PRODUCT.
The film is presented in its original 1.66.1 aspect ratio in a nice AVC encoded 1080p high definition anamorphic widescreen transfer. The black and white image is quite strong, the BFI's restoration team having obviously worked some of their usual magic on the transfer. There's strong detail and good contrast throughout, with solid black levels and a nice, rich texture. Close ups, as usual, fare the best but you'll really appreciate all of the detail that went into the production design for the film, as this transfer really brings it out. There is some fine grain in some spots and a bit of softness here and there but it's likely intentional on the part of the filmmakers who have obviously meant for their picture to look like an older production.
The sole audio track on this release is an English language (with bits sometimes spoken in German and African) DTS-HD 2.0 Mono Master Audio track that includes subtitles in English only. The audio isn't all that exciting in that it's a fairly simple mono track but it is well balanced and very clear and free of any audible defects.
As usual, the BFI have included some pretty cool extras starting with a half hour featurette entitled Inside The Institute: An In-Between World which includes interviews with the Quay Brothers, Mark Rylance and Alice Krige and which provides a pretty comprehensive look at the making of this odd film. They Qauys talk about what influenced them and inspired them to make this picture, while the actors talk about their roles, working with the brothers, and how they feel about the project overall.
More important to most fans will be the inclusion of three of the Quay Brothers' short films: Eurydice She, So Beloved (11:05), Songs for Dead Children (24:02), and The Comb (18:05).All three of these are presented in high definition, which is a nice touch. They're pretty strange pictures, mostly done in the stop motion animation style that they're known for, and like the feature they hit that interesting mix of the humorous and the macabre. Fairly experimental in nature, they might wind up being a bit unsettling to some viewers, as there's a palpable feeling of unease throughout much of this material, but its inclusion is the highlight of the supplements.
Rounding out the extras are some classy looking menus, a trailer for the feature, and an illustrated booklet which includes essays and writing on the film and the men who made it.
The Final Word:
Simultaneously bizarre and beautiful, Institute Benjamenta is pretty strange stuff but definitely worth a look for fans of odd arthouse cinema. It tells a pretty interesting story but it's the visuals that will stay with you once it's over. The BFI's Blu-ray release is a good one, with strong audio and video quality and a nice collection of extra features.