Brilliant 'Bent' offers skewed view of Holocaust

REVIEW
	Bent At the Michigan Theater

Intent on conveying powerful messages, movies often will contain shocking scenes to evoke strong emotional reactions from the audience. Martin Sherman's "Bent" could not have been any more explicit in displaying horrifying, and not necessarily violent, visuals that make one want to curl up in a fetal position on your seat by the end.

Reconstructed for the screen, "Bent" is based on the controversial 1979 British stage play that hit Broadway and starred Richard Gere. Unlike some stage-adapted films, "Bent" seems to have a made a smooth transition from a play to a movie. "Bent," the movie, is unique in its own right with a post-modern, highly stylized quality that can only be achieved on screen.

The moving story of the relationship between two homosexuals and how they mentally cope with the brutality forced upon them as prisoners during the Holocaust begins with a sentimental yet melancholy solo from none other than Mick Jagger. Singing at a gay meat-market cabaret, one can feel the urgency and foreshadowing of turbulence to come.

We are introduced to Max (Clive Owen), and his lover, Rudy (Brian Webber), who are aware of their status of inferiority as homosexuals according to the rising Nazi party. Max's uncle (Ian McKellen, who created the role of Max) can only help his neph

Courtesy of Goldwyn Clive Owen and Ian McKellen star in Sean Mathias' Holocaust drama, "Bent."

ew but not Rudy as well in escaping the impending danger in Berlin. Max and Rudy stick together, and inevitably are shipped off to a concentration camp in Dachau where their excruciating, torturing experience evolves.

"Bent" insightfully combines issues of bigotry with that of differing attitudes of moral strength. Max, who, being Jewish, wears a yellow star. He is at first in denial of what is occurring, as he repeats over and over again on the train to Dachau, "This isn't happening, this isn't happening ..." Luckily, he meets Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), who helps him direct his feelings: Care for no one, and you will survive.

Once in the concentration camp, Max manages to get the a "good" job after bribing the Gestapo guards: the task of transferring heavy stones from one side of the room to another, and then back again - all day long. But Max needs company, and continues to bribe for Horst's sake, so they can work side by side.

Together they resist the temptation to go insane from this mechanistic, pointless task, and soon develop an intense, loving relationship.

A powerfully eroticized moment occurs during a brief three-minute rest period, where they must stand side by side yet not look at each other.

An engagement in verbalization leading to orgasm, without any physical contact, shows how strong their love is for each other, despite the horrible conditions surrounding them.

This episode raises the paradoxical issue of that numb, emotional stoicism that Horst once championed versus this new, deeply affectionate relationship that evolves between them. Max battles with this problem and soon learns to define himself as a person on the inside as well as on the outside.

The highly formalized cinematography by George Arvanitis and outstanding direction by Sean Matthias adds to this film's superior quality. "Bent" is an emotionally difficult visual spectacle due to certain traumatic scenes where every second that passes is more painful than the previous one.

But as the saying goes: No pain, no gain. Maybe, except it is debatable whether an overall appreciation for this film is not overshadowed its brief yet exceedingly powerful moments, which left me in a traumatized state of being even hours after the conclusion of the movie.

Nevertheless, the coexistence of visual complexity and significant underlying and multi-faceted messages of "Bent" offer lasting images audiences will certainly never forget.

03-31-98