You are here:

Bender: The Beginning

Name: Bender: The Beginning
Director: Igor Zaytsev
Released: 2021
Duration: 96 min

Representation Score

4.3/10

Fair

2021

Director

Igor Zaytsev

Runtime

96 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film offers a moderate level of diversity through its ethnic character archetypes and its willingness to challenge traditional power structures. The inclusion of a Turkish-identified character provides a necessary layer of cultural diversity within the Russian Empire setting. However, the narrative remains heavily anchored in traditional male clichés. The focus on male-driven conflict and the absence of women's ability to drive the story or LGBTQ+ representation limit its overall inclusivity. Ultimately, the film's strength lies in its potential to deconstruct social hierarchies through its 'outsider' characters, even if it does not fully address gender or queer identities.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Bender: The Beginning have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include any explicit LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender expressions. The relationship between the two male leads is strictly platonic and based on mutual benefit rather than personal connection.

How does Bender: The Beginning portray gender?

Limited

The story is dominated by male characters and their conflicts. The central tension revolves around masculine hierarchies, such as the White Guard and local mafia, which leaves women's ability to drive the story largely unexplored.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Bender: The Beginning?

Good

The film introduces ethnic diversity through Ibrahim Bender, a Turkish-identified character. This adds a non-Russian element that disrupts the homogeneity of the Russian Empire setting.

How does Bender: The Beginning represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative challenges traditional imperial authority by focusing on individuals who outwit state institutions. It emphasizes moral relativism over the established imperial order.

Does Bender: The Beginning include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not mention any visible or invisible disabilities among the characters.

Present on Screen

The inclusion of a Turkish-identified character adds ethnic diversity to the imperial setting.
The plot challenges traditional state and institutional authority through its focus on individual ability to act.

Limited or Absent

The narrative lacks women's ability to drive the story and relies on a heavily male-dominated hierarchy.
There is no explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender gender expressions.
The story provides no visible or invisible disability representation.

Official Synopsis

Russian Empire, 1919. By a twist of fate, young idealist Osip Zadunaisky meets an infamous con artist and self-proclaimed Turkish subject Ibrahim Bender. A man of pure thought and aristocratic upbringing, Osip would never have associated with a cunning and unscrupulous swindler, but Bender comes up with an offer Osip cannot refuse. A precious royal relic, a diamond-encrusted golden scepter is hidden somewhere in town; Bender needs a partner on his mission to find it, and offers Osip a share of the profit from selling the treasure. And so begins their joint venture, wrought with comical and dangerous twists and turns, where they have to outsmart and outmaneuver officers of the White Guard as well as the local mafia, who also have their eyes on the scepter. As their quest unfolds, Osip is compelled to learn Bender’s tricks of the trade: charming flattery, delicate deception, soft intimidation... as well as brute force.

How are these scores produced? →