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Knife + Heart

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Knife + Heart Released Mar 13, 2019 1h 42m Mystery & Thriller LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
81% Tomatometer 83 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
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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Knife + Heart

Knife + Heart

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review Nigel Andrews Financial Times Witness the encomia extended by some to Yann Gonzalez's Knife+Heart. Rated: 2/5 Jul 9, 2019 Full Review Sam Moore Vague Visages Knife + Heart is at once of its time and timeless. The design, the synth score, the amour fou — everything feels like it’s been plucked from the Brian De Palma and Dario Argento films of the 70s. Jun 5, 2024 Full Review 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 Full Review Samantha Allen them. A dreamlike homage to the giallo. Oct 27, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (19) audience reviews
PridePosterStudios Can’t think of any good puns as they’ve already done Homocidal. Damn. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/09/24 Full Review 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 Full Review brad p Gay Porn Meets Giallo Slasher in Moody ‘Knife+Heart' Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews
Knife + Heart

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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
Producer
Charles Gillibert
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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