BFI London Film Festival: Ruined Heart: Another Love Story between a Criminal and a Whore

BFI London Film Festival: 238 films. From 71 countries. 16 cinemas. 12 days. One Festival.

"Incidents unfold like a daydream or a nightmare. You don’t remember the details, but you remember the feeling. Above all you remember the music."

So states punk filmmaker Khavn De La Cruz on the experience of making Ruined Heart. Shot by Christopher Doyle, this irreverent orgy of sex, violence and crime has a banging soundtrack at its core and is driven by an instinctive rhythmic approach. Nathalia Acevedo (Post Tenebras Lux) has a whale of a time as the titular Whore, while Asano Tadanobu (Ichi the Killer, Thor) exudes unspeakable cool as the Criminal.

With its main theme composed by Khavn himself and covered by an eclectic array of musicians spanning soul, drone, rock ‘n’ roll and folk styles, this is the cinematic mix-tape for those who fancy their filmmaking visceral.

(Notes by Kate Taylor)

Ruined Heart: Another Love Story between a Criminal and a Whote, dir. Khavn De La Cruz, Philippines, Germany 2014, 73 mins.