Messer im Herz

The word giallo is thrown around in a lot of the reviews here - and not least of which in the description on MUBI - but it strikes me that Yann Gonzalez isn't necessarily all that interested in getting some shocks or indulging so much in the kill set pieces (not that he doesn't completely, with one involving lots of 360 degree pans revealing in each succession the killer approaching and then slicing away) as much as he is in pushing the colors that hes working with and mixing film stocks and, in his way, doing a meta comment on using art as a way to fight back.

When Vanessa Paradis's Anne goes to a police station to be briefly questioned about one of her actors being offed, this is then cut away to her recreating this with her own actors (Anal Fury 5 quickly becomes "Homocidal," the best pun you never thought of because why would you), and when she thinks she can draw out who may be the killer, she quickly stages a scene of sado-masochism... And gets what she is asking for (in the one scene that is truly suspenseful). What I'm trying to say here is that if you go in to Knife+Heart expecting a usual Argento or Fulci or one of those directors, you'll be not so much disappointed as thrown off.

And yes, MUBI, it is "unapologetically queer", which, you know, good. But it is also unapologetically French: the Italians had their own method of madness when it came to drawing out violent and/or surreal set pieces (one commonality is a lush and vibrant and spine-tingling score), and this has some surrealism as well, like with the black and white 16mm that feels like it's deliberately cut in from another movie.

But it also embraces and in fact demands that it be erotic and push the limits (albeit no actual genitals are seen, they might as well be), and Gonzalez is in love with color in a particular way. When we see red, it feels especially red and fiery; when we see blue, it's particularly somber and sad. And black? Well, that's the name of the game, man/woman - darkness is all around these characters, but what I also find striking is that, for the types the gay actors and some crew are, they feel like real people, which I often didn't get from Italian Giallos.

One issue though is that it is a director preferring style over substance. He loves Paradis clearly and what she can bring, but her role is thin and I never really felt for her (though she is, without spoiling, denied her moment of redemption that should come). Maybe that makes her more tragic, but I just didn't feel it, and that is what also is more French to me than anything - the sense of doomed romance and ennui which... Cool. But it's definitely more of a visual and sensory experience than one for story or real pathos.

This was a film that one of my buddies from social media told me about. It was already on my radar a new film to check out from this year, but his high praise made me move it up my 'To See List'. Also one of my favorite podcasters really seemed to enjoy it as well. This is actually a neo-giallo film that comes from France and Mexico. I know for purists, that makes this not a gialli, but after seeing this, it most definitely is. The synopsis is Paris, summer 1979. Anne (Vanessa Paradis) is a producer of cheap gay porn. When Lois (Kate Moran), her editor and companion leaves her, she attempts to get her back by making a more ambitious film with the flamboyant Archibald (Nicolas Maury).

Now I should lead off stating that this is definitely an arthouse film. We start with intercutting Loïs as she is editing the latest dallies for a film. This is being seen with the star of that film, Karl (Bastien Waultier), inside of a gay, fetish bar. As he's dancing with some men, he looks across the room at someone in a leather mask. This person leaves and Karl follows. The two go home together, where Karl is tied up. He's then killed as the masked person stabs him with a dildo that is actually concealing a knife.

Later that night, Anne calls Loïs and we learn the two were lovers, but they're broken up. Anne wants her back, but Loïs can't do it. This upsets her and she is hung on up. We get that Anne has a bit of a drinking problem and she's highly emotional.

Anne comes to work the next day where we see Archibald directing an adult film with Thierry (Félix Maritaud) and two other actors. Anne goes upstairs were she sees spies on Loïs while she works.

Things take a turn when the police call to inform them of the death of Karl. This though gives Anne an idea for her next movie. Things take a dark turn though, as more of her actors are killed by this masked man. The film that she is making is mimicking the crimes around her and she even has Archibald playing as her. To star in it, she finds Nans (Khaled Alouach) who looks similar to the star of the film we saw earlier, Fouad. He at first declines, but the money is a bit too good. The crew has to decide though to continue to work and put their lives at risk. Anne only seems interesting in getting Loïs back though. Anne tries to find out who the killer is behind it is too late.

Now I'm glad I finally got to see this movie, because there's a lot to unfold here. The first thing I want to dive into is the time period this is set. I think that is quite interesting having this be at the tail end of the 1970's, which was really a time for free love. I'm of course looking at this as an American, where we are quite prudish. I think the time period is quite important for my next point though.

That would be homosexuality. Anne and Loïs was a couple that is now broken up. Anne is the director for gay porn with Loïs as the editor. All of the actors we see at first are homosexuals as well. What is interesting is that Nans is straight, but the money is too good for him to not be a part of this film to the point where Anne offers him his weekly salary for just a couple of days of work. This film really does do well at celebrating that there's nothing wrong with this and I dig that. There's a dark side to it as well though.

This brings to me to the point that the killer is knocking off the actors for this company. What is interesting about this though is the actual reason the killer is killing them. At the time of the reveal, it is believed that the killer is doing this because of these people's sexual orientation. We as viewers know though are given a bit more than that. Anne does the normal giallo troupe to explain everything that has happened and it actually makes the killer seem tragic. My buddy said this in his recommendation and it is completely right. I don't want to spoil this, so you will have to listen to my podcast where I will delve into this a bit more.

Since I've already shifted over into this, we do get that troupe of the over explaining to ensure we as the audience know what we just saw. We also get a great looking killer. They wear a black, leather mask and have similar gloves. They use a knife for all of the killings as well. We even get that Anne is having dreams that lead us to the truth. What is interesting about this, she is taking her dreams to make her movie and when she's told to follow what they're telling her, that is how we explain who and why the killer is doing what he's doing. I really dug this and I have to admit, I didn't predict the killer which is something that I grade on these types of films.

That will take me to the pacing here. I do think that his runs a tad bit long. It comes in around 105 minutes. I don't want to say I got bored here, because I think everything that we see was needed. We get introduced to our characters and that first death within the opening 10 minutes. From there we build the tension as things go down. It keeps with the giallo sub-genre with Anne, not being a cop, being the one to solve what is going on here. I thought we got the kills at a good interval, ramping up that tension to a satisfying conclusion in a movie theater. As I said, I didn't predict the killer so I did enjoy that as well.

As for the acting, I thought that it was good across the board. Paradis I thought was solid as the lead here. We see that she is unstable and has a drinking problem throughout. I unfortunately connected with her in that I've had an ex-girlfriend break up with me and I've done everything that I can to get her back. We don't really get a lot of growth from her aside from the ending is trying to say she is at peace with everything, at least that's how I interpreted it. Maury I thought was solid in his performance. Same goes for Moran, Jonathan Genet, Maritaud, Alouach and the rest of the cast were all solid.

The effects were really good as well. I thought the weapon was a bit much, but it actually fits so well with this film and the motif of homosexuality. What I also like is that it keeps men and women on the table as possible killers. The blood we get looks good and the wounds do as well. We get a few of them so that is solid as well. I also think that Gonzalez shot the hell out of this film. It looks beautiful. I like that the dream sequences are inverted in color. This hides certain things from us as the audience while still giving us a bit of the back-story. The film that Anne is shooting also has an odd dreamlike feel to it. The cinematography here is definitely on point.

That takes me to the last thing to cover which is the soundtrack. I think that M83 did a solid job. It gives that feel that we're back in the 70's, especially in the club scenes. There does seem to be long stretches where there isn't a score, but that does work in building tension. I don't think this will be a soundtrack I will listen to often. I do think that it works for what they needed here for sure.

Now with that said, I'm so glad I didn't sleep on this film any longer. I think that this is a beautiful looking neo-giallo film that's not from Italy. It has a taboo subject that is socially relevant now and placing it back into the time period they did definitely works. The acting is solid across the board with Paradis really doing a great job as our lead. She's such a broken character in is helped to put it back together with this tragedy around her. I think the look of the killer is great, the kills are pretty solid and I think that it is mystery that I didn't find predictable. The soundtrack fits for what was needed and I really dug this overall. I will say that if you have issues with homosexuality, I don't think you will enjoy this, as we get to see a lot of it on screen and that is the crux of the story. If you're an adult and enjoy films with an arthouse flair, give this a viewing especially giallo fans.

Sitges Film Festival Review

Story, Setting, Characters, Mood etc. are all pretty cool on paper. I think the pure script of the movie is pretty awesome. Sadly the version shown at the Sitges Film Festival did not manage to put these elements together as one flowing film. It felt unfinished in many aspects. The heart is at the very right place. But the execution did not do it justice.

I have a sick sense of humor.

So it wasn't a surprise that during most of the run time for "Heart + Knife" I was laughing my-ass off. The scenario was ridiculous, but I found a lot to relate to here as a gay man, and as a B-Movie, Giallo and cheesy gay art porn lover.

This is good camp. Like an absurd mash up of early Pedro Almodovar, James Bigod, John Waters and Gregg Araki with a little Clair Denis drama for good measure.

For me, it worked. And is one of the better queer films I've seen in a while. It's refreshingly shameless and at times very funny. You wouldn't see a film like this made in the US nowadays!

Actor Nicolas Maury was a standout for me, playing the assistant to troubled porno directress Vanessa Paradis. Every time he appeared he was reliable for a good laugh, especially during the film within a film porno scenes.

So yeah, this isn't heady stuff. It's fromage.

The kind of film that goes well with wine, weed and an open mind. Film snobs and conservatives should leave their badges at the door.

Cultural stereotypes abound in this test of patience from France, acted so broadly that it makes the Three Stooges look subtle. Vanessa Paradis is charming in her own way, but she can't carry this poorly-composed dumpster fire, even if it is beautifully-shot and has a gorgeous soundtrack from M83.

Make no mistake: this is a movie more about a failed lesbian love affair than it is anything else, and it's about as enjoyable as watching a series of hate crimes. Which is to say, not at all. It's unforgivably boring, and for a French film and a film dealing with gay pornography as a focus, it's also terrified of actually committing to the topic. There's barely any nudity to speak of, and certainly nothing surprising or even approaching shocking. If you're going to make a lurid horror film about a violent killer in the very sketchy territory of porn production -- especially gay porn -- you have to actually commit to it. Real giallo didn't exactly shy away from nudity or sex and, even if most of the movies weren't much count, they at least could keep an audience engaged with things happening, whether or not they led to a satisfying conclusion.

But speaking as a gay man and someone who has seen quite a lot of both French cinema and gay cinema (not to mention giallo), this was less than mediocre at best and incredibly offensive at worst. All in all, it's boring, and that's one of the worst things something supposed to entertain can be. Inane, pretentious, unhappy, unentertaining, unamusing, and incredibly superficial -- that's this movie. When it's at its lowest, it comes off as a homophobic parade of poorly-written and poorly-realized nonsense. When it's at its best, it relies on visuals and score...which makes the story pointless.

It's a shame, since the same director also did You And The Night, which was a fantastic film. You And The Night worked because it was a fantasy, with a tremendous magic to the thread of its story, and its at-times incoherent quality seemed dreamlike and engaging. It's a much better choice to watch than this turd, and it's also given a soundtrack by the brilliant M83. Watch it instead.