BENT

Set amidst the decadence of pre-war Nazi Germany, Bent is above all a powerful and moving love story, illustrating how the selfless love of one person for another can lead to a new freedom, which denies the oppressor his assumed power. Max and Rudy are led into the hands of Hitler's men and are exposed as homosexuals. The couple spends two years on the run, but they are finally caught and sent by train to a detention camp. On the train, Rudy is beaten and tortured, and Max is forced to collude in his death. At the camp, Max is befriended by Horst, who wears the pink triangle of the homosexual. Max pretends to be a Jew, wearing a yellow star, to escape persecution handed out by guards and prisoners alike to homosexuals. Max and Horst find a way to express their feelings for each other without being detected, and Max recognizes his overwhelming feelings for another person.