Director: Sean Mathias
Year Released: 1997
Rating: 1.5
Superficial film adaptation of Martin Sherman's famed 1979 play - Sherman wrote the screenplay as well - about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals and, specifically, the bond that forms between two gay men (Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau) performing meaningless work (moving rocks back and forth) while in Dachau. The most illuminating scene in the entire movie (relatively speaking) comes early, and it's between Owen and Ian McKellen's character (mostly about the power of money to save one's self and the need to 'blend in'); thereafter it's just Nazi Bully Boys engaging in random acts of cruelty, some strong acting by Owen and Bluteau and an obviously staged final scene (Owen's character's denial and eventual acceptance of his sexual identity being a slap in the face to those who cower in the closet). The supporting cast consists of some key names (Rupert Graves, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Mick Jagger) but if you are prone to blinking you will most likely miss them.
