Bene Cumb Gay lust/love and decadence in Berlin, Jews-Nazis-concentration camps - all intriguing elements, a good basis for developing a tense narration where different aspects of human nature move to the surface. The story can be roughly divided into 2 parts, different by mood - before arrest and after it. Although the 1st one has menacing circumference as well, events in the secretive club (including nice performance by Mick Jagger) are in total contrast with miseries in Dachau where gays and Jews were the lowest strata, suffering most hardships. The 2nd part includes the strongest scenes of the film where the 2 protagonists (splendidly performed by Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau) have to stand attention... The ending was, unfortunately, predictable, and not all scenes have equal significance for the progression of the script. Nevertheless, unless you are uncomfortable with "different" approaches on "known" events, then Bent is definitely for you; plus I think that Clive Owen should be used more in profound drama films - he did a great job here.

artemis84-1 The wonderful thing about art in general is that it is not created to simply cause sheer pleasure; therefore it can be good without necessarily being pleasant. 'Bent' is a textbook example for such. I saw the movie as an unconventional love story, set in Germany during the Holocaust era.Max (Owen Wilson) is a homosexual man living in Berlin with his dancer lover Rudy (Brian Webber), and indulging himself into an affair with a Nazi officer. Soon the Nazis track down this officer and slit his throat as a punishment. Shocked, Max and Rudy flee their flat and live in the woods, light years away from their previous lifestyle. However, they are found by Nazis and are transported to the Dachau concentration camp. The train ride is where the prisoners' spirits are first broken, as Max is forced to kill Rudy and have sex with a young girl in order to get the yellow star (signifying he's a Jew) instead of the pink triangle (which is for homosexuals). What originally motivates him is the sound advice of a more experienced gay captive, Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), who makes it clear to him that everyone is on his own and that there is no lower rank among the prisoners than having to wear the pink triangle. In a haunting sentence, Horst says: "If you want to stay alive, you cannot exist." Once in Dachau, Horst and Max slowly but gradually fall in love despite the inhumane conditions and hardships they have to endure.Director Sean Mathias made sure the train ride is seen as long and frightening trip to hell by portraying it as a machine of terror, aptly using black-and-white imagery and sound effects. He also did a wonderful job at capturing the desolate condition of Dachau by focusing on the iron gates buzzing with electricity. Though war is not explicitly dealt with, the scenarios were carefully selected to reflect the deprived sense of chaos, desperation, hunger and hopelessness. The background music, entirely played by classical instruments, also added to this effect and fit the purpose perfectly.Especially in the first half an hour the characters seem to be overly (melo)dramatic. The gay nightlife seems to be a glittering mess of orgies, with strange but artsy men and women (though mainly men) exchanging bodily fluids as it would be the sole purpose of their existence. I had a bit of a problem with that, because to me those scenes showed no real purpose. They brought out the fact that there were homosexuals also among the Nazis, and it also served as a great contrast to the Dachau environment, but I would have loved it if the story would have allowed a glimpse into another aspect of Max's life aside from sex and parties. However, in a play this underground eroticism must have had a different and perhaps stronger effect than on screen. I simply was looking for something more to Max in the first third of the movie.However, Clive Owen was so amazing that even this is forgivable. I watched him open-mouthed as he delivered the one-hundred-percent credible character of Max to the audience. It seems to me that he was born to bring to life the strong, direct, and at times shocking dialogue that was evident throughout the movie (another example for this would be his role in 'Closer'). I think if I were to read the script, I could not imagine anyone else as Max's voice but Clive Owen. He was a perfect choice.I must also point out and praise the brief yet powerful appearances of several other great artists and actors, such as Mick Jagger as the transvestite Greta, Ian McKellen as Uncle Freddie, Jude Law as the storm trooper, his former wife Sadie Frost as Max's friend, and Rachel Weisz as a prostitute.The viewer only begins to understand Horst well into the movie, when him and Max are assigned for the senseless act of piling stones (and later on snow) from one place to the other. At first he is very rejecting, but then he proves to be a very sensitive person, crushed by the weight of human cruelty. His love and longing for Max is very honest and direct, and despite the unspeakable circumstances, there was something romantic about their growing affection for one another. I absolutely loved the scene when they first 'make love' without touching, without even looking at each other, simply by using words and their imagination to reach out. There was something deeply sad about it, and yet it also managed to show just how ridiculous and meaningless the entire concept of the Holocaust was.It seemed to me that Max undergoes a tremendous change by the end of the movie. He goes from being an irresponsible pretty 'fluff' to a caring, strong man who realizes it is more important to be what he is (or symbolically wear the pink triangle) than it is to be alive without existing. His character shows the audience that surviving without being able to exist is just as meaningless as piling stones from one heap to the other.As I mentioned in the beginning, this movie is not pleasant to watch. Though at times it was disturbing, this movie opened my eyes to the wide range of victims the Nazi regime tortured and killed. It puts the focus on homosexual Holocaust victims, and I find that a very rare thing. What made it so heartbreaking was that I know that Max's story does not fall far from the horrid truth WWII presented to millions. Nonetheless, 'Bent' is a good movie, because it shows something true, if ever so painful.

Mistressofpoings At the beginning I was thinking "Great, it's another classed up slow moving BORE that is going to leave me angry that no one seems capable of getting it right" I have never been so honored to eat my own words in my life. This movie was so incredibly moving that I have encouraged everyone I know to watch it. I will not even try to describe how touching and beyond words the script/directing/Acting are. Even the set locations were done breathtakingly. I encourage any and all to find this movie and watch it, then watch it again with all of your friends.The actors (especially Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, and the GREAT Sir Ian McKellen)pulled you in to their world and lives, in a way that many mainstream A listers would give their front teeth to be able to do. I applaud there seemingly endless ability to dig just that tiny bit deeper to make it just the smallest bit realer again and again. My only honest criticism of this movie might be that there was once or twice were I felt the writing almost crossed into the predictable cheese of romance. These are the kinds of people I want making more movies in Hollywood.

Isobel Swan This is about the 'Pink Triangle' aspect of the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi's in the pre-WW2 Germany. Homosexual men were rounded up and placed into concentration camps and made to wear the Pink Triangles. The movie's main protagonist Max lived the good life in Berlin (i.e. having as much sex and cocaine with as many sexy men as he could find despite being in a relationship with another man, much to his boyfriend's heartbreak) before the 'Night of the Long Knives' in which the Nazis rounded up as many of the openly gay men as possible. In the transition to the camp Max is forced by the guards to rape a dead 13 year old girl and to murder his lover in order to prove that he is not 'bent'. Max begins to deny who he really is, denying his sexuality and refusing to wear the pink triangle. He makes deals with the guards (by 'going down' on them) and in order to wear the yellow star instead (odd). While in the camp he meets and bonds with a fellow inmate called Horst. They gradually bond and "make love" to each other without actually physically touching each other (you have to watch it to believe it). As a result of this, Horst says that "We were real. We made love. We were human. They are not going to kill us". Horst challenges Max's denial of who he really is and Max admits that he loves despite not being allowed to love. The movie ends in tragedy but before that Horst has made Max proud of what and who he is and he starts to wear his pink triangle with pride. It is a story about love, intolerance and homophobia. The central message of the movie is voiced by Horst when he says about homophobia: "It is silly. The Harlequin Nazis, queer saints, queer geniuses and queer nobodies…we just people. That is why I am wearing this pink triangle and that is why you should be wearing it". The message being that we are all people that are of equal worth. This is Clive Owen's best work to date and despite him joining the Hollywood A-List since, with hits such as 'Closer' (also a good movie) and 'Inside Man' (an entertaining movie); this will always be my favourite Clive Owen movie.