Movie: Bent
Sure Clive Owen is big news these day, with such films as "Inside Man," "Closer," "Detrail," and "Sin City." But if you want to see Clive at his best, you have to check out his 1997 performance in Bent. In "Bent" Clive plays Max, a gay man who in sent to a Nazi concentration camp. At the camp he deny he is gay, and is given a yellow label for Jew instead of a pink label for gay. While at the camp he meets Hoerst a gay man who wears his pink label with pride. They are sent to work together doing absolutely nothing. They simply move rocks from one end of the prison yard to the next and back again. It is monotonous and painful--in all sorts of weather. Anyway, the pain lessens when they fall in love with one another under the watchful eyes of the Nazi guards. What is incredible about the film is the way they make love without ever touching one another. As with other holocust films "Bent" is both sad and uplifting. It depicts the triumph of the human spirit over egregious circumstances. The film is beautifully directed by Sean Mathias. It is rated NC-17 for depicting Berlin's decadent post-Nazi lifestyle (a la Caberet).
posted by Simrose @ 2:48 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
"Bent" sounds interesting. Especially because it tells a different story about relationships during the WWII Nazi concentration camp. Not just the gay love aspect, but the idea that two individuals found love in that situation and then struggled to maintain their love of each other.
It seems that "Brokeback Mountain" and "Bent" have parallel characters who make similar choices. Guy 1 embraces is homosexuality, and Guy 2 denies his sexuality and struggles with accepting himself.
I wonder which camp they had to go to. Moving rocks? I wonder if that was a creative choice the director or screenwriter chose, or did people really move rocks around at Nazi concentration camps.
Thanks for your comment. They were sent to Dachan concentration camp. You are absolutely on point about the similarities between "Brokeback" and "Bent". The theme of acceptance and rejection of one's sexuality is a motif in this genre. "B-Boy Blues" deals with it as well. The book that deals with it in the most shocking way, I think, is "Eustace Chisholm and the Works," by James Purdy. "Eustace" was written in 1967, and is truly groundbreaking. The book simply rocks. I will comment on "Eustace" in a later posting. Till then, happy reading, la la.
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