Clive Owen Movie:

Editorial Review:
Bent debuted onstage in 1979 with Ian McKellen starring in the London production and Richard Gere in its later Broadway version. The film version is adapted by the playwright, Martin Sherman, and closely follows his play's story of two gay concentration camp victims who are sent to Dachau and who fall in love, using their relationship as an emotional crutch in their efforts to rebuff the horror of the Holocaust. Max (Clive Owen), would rather wear a yellow star and proclaim himself a Jew than be lanced with the pink triangle that designates homosexuality. Horst, (Lothaire Bluteau) chastises him for his homophobia. Later the tables turn on Max, who finds--through Horst--the strength both to keep alive indefinitely and to ultimately embrace his sexual identity.

Initially set in a war-ravaged Berlin, Bent is directed by Sean Mathias, who first directed Jude Law in Indiscretions, and he has crafted a film that reminds one of Ian McKellen's Richard III with its spare, stylized, and stark world bombed into rubble and chic theatrical disarray. There are many poignant as well as harrowing scenes, and the result is a somber work that stands as a reminder that intolerance cannot overtake individualism and love. While Bent received an NC-17 rating for depicting Berlin's decadent, anything-goes-for-a-price nightlife, MGM opted not to edit out the tone-setting prelude and pushed to preserve the film's integrity despite a rating that is itself a kind of death for any film that bears it. --Paula Nechak

Bent [Region 2] Reviews:
Beautifully and Brilliantly,Bent !
2009-06-09 - This is an extremely powerful and tragic movie focusing on the prosecution of the gays during the nazi era. More specifically it focuses on the coming of age of the protagonist, played by protean talent, Clive Owen and shows clearly how love could transcend the physical. The pivotal scene in which they speak with each other in a rather animated way and experiencing the physical sensations of intimacy without touching each other is quite a surprise and brilliantly poetic. The love that results from the relationship provides the motivation for the final scene of the movie - the courage to be who one really is and to be able to finally feel that love could MOVE! I would consider this movie to be a gay classic. Brilliant!!

Brokeback Holocaust
2008-12-29 - "Bent" is one of the most depressing films I have ever watched.If your not in a good mood,don't look at this movie.
The acting is brilliant,but for most of the film your watching rocks being moved from one pile to another,then back to the original pile,but it has to be in the story.
The train sceen is alfuw,if this really happened,these inhuman evil German Hitler animals have to be burning in hell forever.
Clive Owen's is fantastic,along with everyone else,including Mick Jagger.
Its been 24 hours since I've seen "Bent ,"and its still haunting me.This is a love story between 2 guys during the Holocaust who never touch or kiss,but still have sex together.


Compelling drama about the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis
2008-12-18 - "Bent" has been on my must-watch movie list for a while [having watched and reviewed many other WW II dramas, especially those dealing with the Holocaust] and I finally watched it tonight. It proved to be a compelling viewing experience and quite amazing considering the majority of the movie is set in an internment camp and focuses on two men moving rocks from one pile to the next and repeating these movements.

Of course, the theme of the movie itself is much more complex than moving rocks - set during the early days of the Reich [before the mass killings], it traces the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany. It begins in Berlin, in a nightclub operated by Greta, a transvestite [played to brilliant effect by Mick Jagger] and the camera focuses on Max [Clive Owen in a ground-breaking role], a gay Lothario who goes about seducing good-looking young men, even though he is seriously involved with Rudy, a dancer. Max's dalliance with a lover of Ernst Roehm [a well-known Nazi offcial who was also gay and who was executed under Hitler's orders] leads to Max and Rudy being targeted by the Gestapo and having to flee Berlin. Max tries to get his Uncle Freddie [Ian McKellen in a minor but memorable role], himself a closeted gay, to help but leads nowhere. Both Max and Rudy get arrested and dumped on a train bound for a camp [this was before the notorious death camps were established].

Max finds himself getting gradually de-humanised through a series of horrific incidents, yet when he arrives at the camp, he is determined to stay alive, going to the extreme of taking on the Jewish star instead of the pink triangle [symbolising one is gay], thinking that it will afford him a better chance at survival. His 'companion' during this internment is Horst [Lothaire Bluteau in a finely nuanced performance] and both men come to really care for each other, even achieving orgasm during a stand at attention without touching each other. Will Max finally find salvation and release from his suffering? Will Horst and Max have a happy-ever-after? The final minutes of the movie provides these answers.

A compelling movie that is a must-watch for those interested in the Nazi doctrine of persecuting certain groups of people deemed undesirable, in this instance, the homosexuals. It is a subject matter that is often neglected, yet this group of people suffered greatly under the Nazi reign. Having formerly taught Holocaust history, I found this movie to provide immense insight and I am definitely adding Bent to my collection of Holocaust/ WW II DVDs. Highly recommended!

Want to understand hate?
2008-11-25 - Hate is alive and well in our very own country of America. That is unfortunate but it is a fact. We still have racists, sexists, homophobes etc. That kind of hate gave birth to Nazi Germany and the extinction of Jews and Gay People in the Concentration Camps. This is a must see movie that every American ought to see. We then can hopefully understand why we must be vigilant to assure that this kind of thing never happens again. Bent is a powerful movie. Prepare yourselves to examine your own consciences as you see this movie unfold. I highly recommend it.

From party animal to deep commitment
2008-06-09 - This film is catching. It provides an insight from a German guy, living changes in the "gay" lifestyle at the begining of the Nazi Period. Although not being a documentary, it is a "could be" movie. At the begining of the film we are in a wild club with fancy and trendy people flirts, watch "modern" performances and enjoy and industrial envoiromen. It reproduces the mood of early 30's Berlin, were "gay life" was active in clubs like EL DORADO, bistros and even gay and lesbian magazines like Die Freundschaft. Life is a party for Max, the main character. However, Nazi politics, which includes homosexuals witch-hunt, is the end of that golden era. It is not mentioned in the film, but although that active gay life, there were a law against homosexuality (Paragraph 173). That is a reminder for us now, it is not only important to have social tolerance or acceptance, but to be sure laws are changed for not raising among the dead and haunt us in the most unexpected moment. Max meeting a self-confident guy at a concentration camp will make him understand the differences between sex and love. Although being a similar theme to A LOVE TO HIDE, the French film is more oriented on external situations of being gay in France, focusing on police activity, concentration camps abuses and even mentioning castration, hormones experiments and cerebral interventions with homosexuals. BENT is more introspective about being gay in a hostile envoiroment, as well as personal evolution from egocentrism to commitment. A touching film to see and talk about with friends.