Bent

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Bent

NC-17

1997

1h 57m

Drama

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

74%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In the 1930s Berlin, homosexual Max sleeps with German officer Wolf, only to see him killed by his fellow Nazis the next morning. Fleeing with his boyfriend, Rudy, Max is eventually caught and forced to beat his partner to death on a train to prove they have no connection. He's then sent to Dachau concentration camp and meets Horst, a proud gay man also bound for the camp. Despite their harsh surroundings, the two fall in love.

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Critics Consensus

Bent juggles heavy topics with style, though its heavy-handedness at times feels more like exploitation than exploration.

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

04/18/2006

C+

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.

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Mike Clark

USA Today

01/01/2000

2.5/4

Among notable players, Ian McKellen from the original play 19 years ago and Mick Jagger, who plays Berlin's reigning drag queen.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

01/01/2000

2/4

The material is not worthy of its setting.

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Eve Tushnet

Patheos

01/31/2023

There’s something too well-fed in that final moment...

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Jan Stuart

The Advocate

04/05/2022

Bent shrewdly underscores the ways in which the camps reflected the hierarchy of prejudice that exists to this day.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

01/21/2019

2.5/4

It's easy to see why playwright Martin Sherman's 1979 Bent was such a groundbreaking theatrical achievement and almost as easy to understand why the 1997 film adaptation failed to gain the same traction.

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alan g

@agenser Jan 3

Cheap homosexual porn. Avoid.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 24

Pride in 1 hour and 57 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only for adult audiences 18 and older!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $418,200.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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PridePosterStudios

09/20/2023

A harrowing and powerful watch.

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Daniel O

04/28/2023

Different take on the Holucaust. Good adaptation of the play.

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J T

@J_view 12/29/2020

Great cast... however, sad reminder of the horror that gays & Jewish people faced.

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02/20/2020

A stellar performance by all.

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Sean Mathias

Director

Clive Owen

Max

Lothaire Bluteau

Horst

Brian Webber

Rudy

Ian McKellen

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Mick Jagger

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Synopsis

In the 1930s Berlin, homosexual Max sleeps with German officer Wolf, only to see him killed by his fellow Nazis the next morning. Fleeing with his boyfriend, Rudy, Max is eventually caught and forced to beat his partner to death on a train to prove they have no connection. He's then sent to Dachau concentration camp and meets Horst, a proud gay man also bound for the camp. Despite their harsh surroundings, the two fall in love.

Director: Sean Mathias
Producer: Michael Solinger, Dixie Linder
Screenwriter: Martin Sherman
Production Co: Channel Four Films
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 12, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $418.2K
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Surround

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