X
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Argot Pictures
- 1 h 32 m
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Argot Pictures
- 1 h 32 m
Summary Welcome to the Jejune Institute, a mind-bending San Francisco phenomenon where 10,000 people became "inducted" without ever quite realizing what they'd signed up for. Was it a cult? Was it an elaborate game?
Directed By: Spencer McCall
Written By: Jeff Hull
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Argot Pictures
- 1 h 32 m
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Argot Pictures
- 1 h 32 m
The Institute
55
User Score
Universal Acclaim
8.3
Where to Watch
Summary Welcome to the Jejune Institute, a mind-bending San Francisco phenomenon where 10,000 people became "inducted" without ever quite realizing what they'd signed up for. Was it a cult? Was it an elaborate game?
Directed By: Spencer McCall
Written By: Jeff Hull
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
55
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
57% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
55
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
57% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
It’s compelling throughout, and profoundly moving at times, even when it rings false, which is often. It’s a divisive, shadowy conversation-starter of a movie that’s as much fun to talk and think about as it is to watch.
Complaints that there's too little here about how the Jejune Institute was hatched or what it all may have meant matter little in the face of the one great thing The Institute does offer: a record of the mad invention of the game's masterminds.
The film will frustrate viewers who insist on knowing which interviewees are recounting real experiences and which are perpetuating fictions hatched by the game's creator, Jeff Hull. But mystery is part of the appeal.
Because The Institute is largely framed as if the viewer were a co-player in Jejune's game, the film is an experience that's fun and frustrating in equal measure.
The Institute stumbles between documentary and exploratory simulation, at once confusing and pedantic.
A ludicrous, yet oddly engaging documentary.
A lazily constructed documentary that doesn't hide first-time director Spencer McCall's admitted lack of understanding for his subject.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 4 User Ratings
8.3
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 4 User Ratings
8.3
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Nonchalance,
Pen and Banjo Films
Release Date Oct 11, 2013
Duration 1 h 32 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Tagline Is it a cult? Is it a game? Or is it a life-changing adventure?
