Knife + Heart

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1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

LGBTQ+

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80%

82 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the summer of 1979, Paris-based filmmaker Anne is a producer of third-rate gay porn. After her editor and lover Lois leaves her, she tries to win her back by shooting her most ambitious film yet with her trusted, flamboyant sidekick Archibald. But when one of her actors is brutally murdered, Anne gets caught up in a strange investigation that turns her life upside-down.

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Critics Consensus

Knife + Heart wrings giallo-inspired thrills out of a boldly challenging story that defiantly succeeds on its own stylish merits.

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Audience Member

Being a bit of a francophile, a film only has to be set in France for me immediately to be pumped for it. Ridiculous, of course. But Yann Gonzalez' sumptuous and brilliant second full length feature forgives any such fool hardy preconceptions. Set in 1979 Paris, filmmaker Anne is a producer of third rate gay porn. Her editor and lover Lois leaves her early in the film, and she decides to undertake her most ambitious project yet in an attempt to win her back. As the production begins however, one of her cast is brutally murdered. Consequently, Anne decides to press on with her project, and even when another of her actors is murdered (by the same masked individual) she continues, and begins to combine the atrocities engulfing the production into the project itself. There's so many genres at play here that it could lead to disaster; instead Knife + Heart encapsulates everything that's excellent about the genres it's dealing in. I've said before that when dealing specifically with sexual nature as the crux of a film, it's difficult to keep it interesting and relevant. As much as I love and respect Gaspar Noe for example, his experimental film Love 3D (2015) had the right intentions, but was fairly dull. The best example I can remember of sex and fetishism on film in recent years is still Peter Strickland's The Duke Of Burgundy (2014). Until now, anyway. The sex scenes Anne films throughout are intoxicating, with the backdrop of a wonderful score by M83 (Gonzalez' brother incidentally) and there's plenty of deliberate humour within them as well. Part thriller, part horror, part comedy, you name it, I would argue it's the best LGBTQ+ genre film of the year. The cast are wonderful, and I've heard some say the film dips off in its final quarter when it threatens to introduce a supernatural element (or does it) but I couldn't disagree more. It's a more playful film than something like Friedkin's Cruising (1980) but there's also a more chilling undertone than you might initially realise. The neon chrome lighting gives Knife + Heart a threatening sheen that works wonders as a genre mixer, and the cinematography is transfixing. It's so apt then, that Knife + Heart is about so many things, but deep down and stripped back, it's about cinema. Gonzalez has produced a masterpiece, an ode to film, arguing through his production not just the supposed satisfaction of Anne's art form for many, but tackling the long asked question of where the line is between art and porn. Through Knife + Heart, he makes a compelling case. Knife + Heart is available to stream on MUBI.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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brad p

Gay Porn Meets Giallo Slasher in Moody ‘Knife+Heart'

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

French noir with retro-Italian vibes and a futuristic flair. Boogie Nights' and Mr Nobody's love child raised by Dario Argento.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

I really loved this and I think it's a great film, but I have a hard time recommending it due to the highly upsetting content and the fact that it left me feeling pretty despondent. It might actually be the saddest horror movie I've ever seen. The soundtrack is excellent, everyone in it is amazing. It's full of wonderful weird, awesome moments. I cried a bit.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

Magnifica oda y homenaje al thriller de los 70, desde el americano (haciendo referencias a A la caza) o al italiano (elige cualquier giallo), grabada con muchisimo mimo y encanto. La naturaleza meta que tiene le da aun mas dimension a una historia que no solo habla de asesinatos, sino tambien del amor, el deseo, el dolor… Absoluta delicia visual y musical (M83 es amor).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

Wow! If you're open-minded and love Dario Argento films this movie is for you! Casts a spell. The soundtrack fits it perfectly. A modern throwback!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Yann Gonzalez

Director

Vanessa Paradis

Anne Parèze

Nicolas Maury

Archibald Langevin

Kate Moran

Loïs McKenna

Jonathan Genet

Guy

Khaled Alouach

Nans

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Knife + Heart: Trailer 1

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Amy Nicholson

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

The film has a big heart sometimes for the victims, and yet the deaths are so sadistic and so brutal... It didn't have the empathy that I thought it should have.

Sep 24, 2019

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Variously gorgeous, ethereal, artful and tacky, both Anne's film and Gonzalez's are sustained by a throbbing sexual energy, aided by French electronic act M83's twinkling, club‑inspired score.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 12, 2019

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Witness the encomia extended by some to Yann Gonzalez's Knife+Heart.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 9, 2019

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Michael Cuby

them.

This French film is every bit as sexy as it is harrowing. It’s an edge-of-your-seat thriller imbued with the power of seduction.

Nov 16, 2022

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Samantha Allen

them.

A dreamlike homage to the giallo.

Oct 27, 2022

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Ben Turner

The Pink Lens

If this was just a mood board, then it would get two big thumbs up, but as an actual movie with a plot, we need a little bit more. Paradis' acid blonde hair looks great against the neon, but a weave does not a film make.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

In the summer of 1979, Paris-based filmmaker Anne is a producer of third-rate gay porn. After her editor and lover Lois leaves her, she tries to win her back by shooting her most ambitious film yet with her trusted, flamboyant sidekick Archibald. But when one of her actors is brutally murdered, Anne gets caught up in a strange investigation that turns her life upside-down.

Director: Yann Gonzalez
Screenwriter: Yann Gonzalez, Cristiano Mangione
Distributor: Altered Innocence
Production Co: Le Fresnoy - Studio national des arts contemporains, arte France Cinéma, CG Cinéma, Garidi Films, Piano, RTS
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, LGBTQ+
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 13, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 6, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.0K
Runtime: 1h 42m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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