Bent (1997 film)

Bent is a 1997 British-Japanese drama film directed by Sean Mathias, based on the 1979 play of the same name by Martin Sherman, who also wrote the screenplay. It revolves around the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany after the murder of SA leader Ernst Röhm on the Night of the Long Knives.

Plot
Max (Clive Owen) is a promiscuous gay man living in 1930s Berlin. He is at odds with his wealthy family because of his homosexuality. One evening, much to the resentment of his boyfriend, Rudy (Brian Webber II), Max brings home a handsome Sturmabteilung (SA) man (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Unfortunately, he does so on the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler ordered the assassination of upper echelon SA corps. The Sturmabteilung man is discovered and killed by SS men in Max and Rudy's apartment, and the two have to flee Berlin.

Max's Uncle Freddie (Ian McKellen) has organised new papers for Max, but Max refuses to leave his boyfriend behind. As a result, Max and Rudy are found and arrested by the Gestapo and put on a train headed for Dachau. On the train, Rudy is brutally beaten to death by the guards. As Rudy calls out to Max when he is taken away, Max lies to the guards, denying he is gay. In the camp, Max falls in love with Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), who shows him the dignity that lies in acknowledging one's beliefs. After Horst's death, Max finds the courage to be true to himself and takes his own life.

Cast

 * Clive Owen as Max
 * Lothaire Bluteau as Horst
 * Ian McKellen as Uncle Freddie
 * Brian Webber II as Rudy
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Wolf
 * Mick Jagger as Greta
 * Jude Law as Stormtrooper
 * Paul Bettany as Captain
 * Rachel Weisz as Prostitute

Critical reception
Bent has an overall approval rating of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Bent juggles heavy topics with style, though its heavy-handedness at times feels more like exploitation than exploration".

The film grossed $496,059 in the United States and Canada and $46,697 in the United Kingdom

Awards

 * 1997: Won Award of the Youth at the Cannes Film Festival
 * 1998: Won Best Feature Film in the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival