Jakob enters the Benjamenta siblings’ servants’ school. The protagonist of Robert Walser’s novel “Jakob von Gunten”, which was published in 1909, becomes an observer of a place that lies still and dreams. The pupils still take mysterious exercises, for example the canon of the singing forks. But the soul of the institute glows in hidden chambers. The Brothers Quay’s first feature film features a brilliant cast, but breathes the spirit of animation. Just as Walser’s language personifies matter and states of being and objectifies persons, objects, light and the forest take over that role in the film.

André Eckardt