Renowned British stage director Sean Mathias adapts Martin Sherman's
"powerful and provocative" (The New York Times), groundbreaking play, Bent,
a heartrending tale of one man's struggle to maintain dignity while imprisoned in a Nazi
concentration camp. Max (Clive Owen, Close My Eyes) is a handsome, devil-may-care
young man who lives for the decadent nightlife of Berlin while the threat of Nazi
persecution unfolds around him. But he can no longer ignore the atrocities when he is
discovered in a fateful tryst with a soldier and forced to run for his life. Pursued and
captured, Max is placed in a concentration camp where he quickly learns that his chances
for survival depend on him pretending to be Jewish — because gays are, in the eyes of the
Nazis, the lowest form of human being. In the camp quarry, Max meets Horst (Lothaire
Bluteau, The Black Robe), an openly gay prisoner who bonds with him during their
time spent performing menial tasks. Their forbidden relationship teaches Max a
life-altering lesson: without the love of another, life is not worth living.
Clive Owen (Max) and Uncle Freddie (Ian McKellen) in Sean Mathias's Bent
Featuring a colorful performance by Mick Jagger singing "The Streets of
Berlin," and exceptional support from Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters), Bent
"earns its place in cultural history" (The New York Times) as an
emotionally satisfying masterpiece that will "grab filmgoers by the heart" (Rex
Reed).
Produced by . . . . .
Ask Kodansha Company Ltd / NDF Inc. / Channel Four Films (aka Film
Four International) (UK) / Arts Council of England
Distributed by . . . . .
Goldwyn Entertainment Company / Metromedia
(Goldwyn)