Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

preppy-3 This is set in Germany right around the time the Nazis started herding Jews and gays into concentration camps. A gay couple (one played by Clive Owen) try to escape but are captured. One dies but Owen lives. He also swears to do anything to survive in the camps--even keeping it secret that he's gay. Then he meets another gay prisoner Horst (Lothaire Bluteau) and falls in love. Horst tries to make him come out. Will he?A perfectly good idea for a drama (and based on a play) is totally botched. It's quite frankly deadly dull. Owen (a good actor) gives a rare bad performance. He's good every once in a while but mostly he's really off. Bluteau is great but he can't carry the whole movie. They keep going on and on and ON about coming out and being yourself till you want to scream. The same points are repeated to a ridiculous degree. It's pretty well-directed but was made on a very low budget which shows. There are some interesting people in small roles--Mick Jagger (as a drag queen), Ian McKellan, Jude Law, Rupert Graves, Charlie Watts and an unknown Paul Bettany. Still they're not enough to make this worth watching. A rightfully forgotten gay drama.

amdew717 I watched this in two stages: first half, late at night; second half the following evening. I love historical stories set in Europe during WWII. I was intrigued by the first part, even though it was quite disturbing, however, the second part between the two principles, the real heart of the story, just left me completely cold. I cared nothing for either of them. I don't even know what to say about Max, but if I did, there wouldn't be much good in it. Horst was just downright annoying and nag. I found their verbal sexual interaction boring and pretentious; I was sorry it was repeated later in the film. The action was so staid in this ridiculous situation they were in, that I was relieved when one of them was killed. Maybe you're supposed to feel that way. I don't doubt that such situations really happened, senseless as the Nazis were, but I just don't think it made for interesting story telling. Honestly, the only character I felt anything for was Rudy; I was sorry he died so early on. Just my opinion.

wes-connors Nazi-era playboy Clive Owen (as Max) and his dancer lover Brian Webber (as Rudy) are pursued by Nazis, after Mr. Owen is picked up by blond hunk Nikolaj Waldau (as Wolf), in a gay club. After being captured, Owen and Mr. Weber are tortured, on a train to Germany's first concentration camp, at Dachau. Also on the train, Owen meets Lothaire Bluteau (as Horst). Mr. Bluteau wears the "Pink Triangle" identifying him as a homosexual, which is considered an especially low form of human life, by the Nazis. To avoid being beaten to death, Owen pretends to be Jewish, and is given the identifying "Yellow Star". At the concentration camp, prisoners Owen and Bluteau fall in love; but, they must avoid any physical contact.The opening club/orgy sequence is presented in a disjointed, confusing fashion. It's hard to figure out what is going on -- you should, if possible, play the opening (up until the Nazis bust into Owen's pad) twice. The cast is enhanced by cross-dressing Mick Jagger (as Greta), and the original 1979 stage production's "Max", Ian McKellen (as Uncle Freddie). Mr. Jagger also sings the haunting theme "Streets of Berlin". Director Sean Mathias and supporting actor Webber make excellent first impressions; it's strange to see so little work (film credits) immediately followed this production.This film version of Martin Sherman's "forbidden" love story is far from perfect; but, it's still quite captivating. The extent of "man's inhumanity to man" is, as always, horrifying. The film's non-physical sex scene, performed at the concentration camp, is extremely touching. ******* Bent (1997) Sean Mathias ~ Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Mick Jagger

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.