Bent

This journey is filled with seductive images and feelings-feelings that we tend to forget until we are reminded that life can change on a dime-

There is a scene on the way to Dachau where the Max (Clive Owen) has to denounce knowing his friend..." He is not my friend".....reminicient of Judas denying Jesus....was it to save himself or his friend....the answer comes when one cannot no longer deny who you are- facing your truth brings-reclaiming your dignity-Max's final journey.

Lothair (Jesus of Montreal) and a new-comer, Jude Law (The Talent Mr. Ripley) add to make up a fine cast.

Splendid job by all-especially Mr.Clive Owen.

Take the journey -it's worth your time.

I had seen the play on Broadway twice, once with Richard Gere and David Dukes, and once with Michael York and Jeffrey DeMunn. The movie is very faithful to the play and was just as interesting, which usually is not the case. Mick Jagger is great as Greta. All in all, I'd recommend this movie and did not find it pretentious in the least.

Kuranosuke Sasaki who is my favorite actor acted in the play "Bent". I wanted to see him, so I decided to watch it without taking it too seriously. However, after the play, I regretted watching it with a light heart because it was so tragic that my heart could not bear. Since I already knew the story, I also watched the film version. This is the story of gays under control of Nazis. It is famous that Jewish put on the yellow star, but for the first time I know gays are also the target of holocaust and have the pink mark on their chest. In the situation that human is not treated as human, gays survive with the dignity and love of human beings. I feel sad, dark, disappointed and don't like such an ending. However, I think this important story should be handed down from generation to generation.

Only half way through this film did I remember having seen a small theatre production of the play in Los Angeles a dozen years ago. I only remembered when the rock-moving scenes began. I don't recall being particularly moved by the play -- it may have been a condensed 1-act version or something. I only remember thinking it was too "talky." But, the film was very powerful and moving and enraged me! I'm also older and more aware of prejudice on every level. Every gay person...or minority of any kind (race, religion, etc.) should see this film just to remind them (us) of just HOW BAD it can get and how "humans" can become such sick animals as the Nazis were in this film. I kept thinking: "Hey, how can they keep blaming Hitler, when he was not there ordering the guards to torture and ENJOY hurting people like that?" Powerful film!

When Martin Sherman's play first appeared (with Ian McKellen as Max and Tom Bell as Horst) it caused outrage and much discussion with its sympathetic and frank treatment of forbidden love in the age of the SS.

Here it has undergone a few changes but retains its stark power. Clive Owen (probably not my first choice for the role) plays Max, the homosexual who pretends to be a Jew so he is not at the bottom of the pecking order of prisoners. The way the SS force him to prove his sexuality is shocking whether on the printed page, in a theatre, or up on the big screen. Brian Webber plays his intellectual lover Rudy with some class and it is a brief but touching performance.

Lothaire Bluteau, who I had only seen before in 'Jesus of Montreal', was brilliant in the role of Horst, the prisoner with the pink triangle who awakens Max again from his imprisoned desires. There are quiet and intense scenes between the two that are almost unbearably moving to watch, and are done within this film extremely well.

Elsewhere in the cast, Ian McKellen himself plays Uncle Freddie (but those of us who saw him as Max would love to have seen that portrayal immortalised on screen), while Mick Jagger is surprisingly good as Greta (a role which could easily be played wrong but he's spot on).

This play/film is intended to make its audience confront their prejudices, to shock, move, and inspire them. I think it is an unmissable experience - a difficult one, but worthwhile.