"Bent" is about the the persecution of gays who were rounded up under Hitler's regime in 1934. The main character is Max (Clive Owen), a homosexual who comes from a wealthy family. At the beginning of the film we see Max cavorting with other gays in an all-night Cabaret party that includes Mick Jagger (Greta/George) as a singing, black-stockinged transvestite on a swing. One evening, much to the resentment of his boyfriend Rudy (Brian Webber), he brings home a handsome SA man. Unfortunately, Hitler has just decided to get rid of the Sturmabteilung, which was known for homosexuality among its ranks. The SA man is discovered and killed by SS men in Max and Rudy's apartment and the two flee Berlin. Max and Rudy are found and arrested by the Gestapo and put on a train headed for Dachau concentration camp. On the train, Rudy is beaten to death by the guards and calls out to Max when he is taken away. Max is forced to have sex with a dead girl to prove he is not homosexual. He lies to the guards, telling them that he is a Jew, believing his chances for survival will be better if he is not assigned the pink triangle. In the camp, Max makes friends with Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), who shows him the dignity that lies in acknowledging what one is. After Horst is shot by camp guards, Max puts on Horst's jacket with the pink triangle and commits suicide by grabbing an electric fence.
This screen adaptation of Martin Sherman's award-winning play about the persecution of homosexuals by Nazis during World War II tends to trivialize the gay Holocaust. The stage play is considered superior to the movie version. Its greatest flaw is that it seems too theatrical with stylized sets, a small number of people in the concentration camp scenes, the monotony of watching two prisoners moving rocks back and forth, the repetitious dialogue, and the overwrought ending. It all contributes to making the film seem stagy, artificial, and the scenes don't flow together very well. Philip Glass composed the music score and Sean Mathias directed.
This screen adaptation of Martin Sherman's award-winning play about the persecution of homosexuals by Nazis during World War II tends to trivialize the gay Holocaust. The stage play is considered superior to the movie version. Its greatest flaw is that it seems too theatrical with stylized sets, a small number of people in the concentration camp scenes, the monotony of watching two prisoners moving rocks back and forth, the repetitious dialogue, and the overwrought ending. It all contributes to making the film seem stagy, artificial, and the scenes don't flow together very well. Philip Glass composed the music score and Sean Mathias directed.
