In this day and age, it thankfully has become less risky to come out as gay, due to the struggle of many LGBTQ+ people from the past. However, this struggle was hard won– while gay people were persecuted in the Nazi regime, it was only until decades later people started to discuss it, and one reason why research and education about it increased was due to the play Bent, depicted in film in 1997. The screen version admittedly falters compared to the West End original, with static staging and focus on the dialogue over action, but the performances are fairly decent, with an unexpected collection of cast members that maximize each moment they’re in. It’s quite depressing, and sometimes heavy handed, but Bent is a needed perspective.
"The screen version of Sherman's play about homosexuals in Nazi Germany shows that tyro director Mathias doesn't know much about film for his erratic approach and inconsistent style bring out the play's weaknesses, though the acting is good."
— Emanuel Levy
Max is a handsome young man who, after a fateful tryst with a German soldier, is forced to run for his life. Eventually Max is placed in a concentration camp where he pretends to be Jewish because in the eyes of the Nazis, gays are the lowest form of human being. But it takes a relationship with an openly gay prisoner to teach Max that without the love of another, life is not worth living.
Berlin, 1930s. After being caught fleeing with his boyfriend, Max, a gay Jewish man, is sent to a concentration camp under the Nazi regime.
Bent isn’t a terrible adaptation, but one of the reasons the film version falters is because of the way the staging was recreated on screen, as it feels a bit, well, stagey.
I can't believe this happened a century ago. I hope it never happens again.
Cannes
1 win
