Unfortunately I was not able to watch this film through to the end. It is slow and after about 20 minutes I felt I had seen it all. This is a pity as the black and white imagery that unfolded before my eyes was breathtakingly beautiful. But somehow I expect a movie to tell me a story, to get me involved in the character's lives in some way or other. In this aspect the movie really does fail miserably. It's just a big freak show. Too much style, hardly any substance.
The movie is based on a novel by Swiss writer Robert Walser. It was first published around 1910 and reads like excerpts of the author's diary. In their diaries people explore their selves and their relationship with the external world. I think the main problem with Instituten Benjamenta is its failure to distinguish between the external and the internal world it's just one big stage with a kind of a waiting room atmosphere. That's very fashionable in Modern European Theatre of our days. It can also be very, very, boring. A much better introduction into Walser's world is Thomas Koerfer's movie Der Gehülfe.
No doubt the Brothers Quay are talented artists. Their movies live through the imagery, not from the narrative. This is ideal for music videos but maybe less so for a full length feature film.
The movie is based on a novel by Swiss writer Robert Walser. It was first published around 1910 and reads like excerpts of the author's diary. In their diaries people explore their selves and their relationship with the external world. I think the main problem with Instituten Benjamenta is its failure to distinguish between the external and the internal world it's just one big stage with a kind of a waiting room atmosphere. That's very fashionable in Modern European Theatre of our days. It can also be very, very, boring. A much better introduction into Walser's world is Thomas Koerfer's movie Der Gehülfe.
No doubt the Brothers Quay are talented artists. Their movies live through the imagery, not from the narrative. This is ideal for music videos but maybe less so for a full length feature film.