Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life backdrop

Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life poster

Where to watch Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life(1995)

Name: Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Released: 1995-08-01
Duration: 105 min
Cast: Alice Krige, Mark Rylance, Gottfried John, Daniel Smith, Joseph Alessi

Movie · 1995 · 1h 45m · Drama, Mystery

In the United States, Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life is available to stream on Prime Video, Philo, Fandor, Shout! Factory, and Cineverse. It's also free on Plex, Plex Channel, Tubi TV, and Amazon MX Player.

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Where to stream Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life

Availability in United States

Included with subscription

Prime Video
Philo
Fandor
Shout! Factory
Cineverse

Free

Plex
Plex Channel
Tubi TV
Amazon MX Player

See links to each service ↗

Data updated on October 9, 2026. Availability data from JustWatch.

Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life plot summary

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?