The erotic-surrealist French film Un couteau dans le Coeur (Knife + Heart in English) is a love letter from director Yann Gonzalez to the high-art 35mm European porn of the 1970s. This homage to the quaint and pastoral production of the gay porn of yore is streaked with a darker, and more seditious “plot” – if it can be termed even that. When Anne (Vanessa Paradis) loses her lesbian lover Loïs (Kate Moran), she attempts to reclaim her through making her most ambitious gay porno yet. But, her actors are being picked off one-by-one by a mysterious killer.
While some may argue that it wasn’t funny enough, or serious enough, or didn’t have enough plot, I found its romp into 1970s gay porn directing a fascinating and lavish adventure. I predict this seedy, artful, and indulgent film will be a cult classic in a number of years from now.
3.5/5 stars
Reviewed by Dylan Rowen.