The film, while partly staged, is based on the real life relationship between Mitchell and her girlfriend Tigr Mennett, who were both pornographic actresses.

In Kamikaze Hearts, a camera crew follows Mitchell, nicknamed "Mitch," as she stars in a porn parody of the opera Carmen that Mennett is directing.

Veteran pornographic actress Sharon Mitchell, nicknamed "Mitch", drives to San Francisco accompanied by a camera crew filming a documentary.

After filming a rape scene, Mitch dons a mustache, invites the crew to what she calls the "pre-wrap wrap party," and introduces them to more of her coworkers.

Mantra is supposed to perform fellatio on Jon, but pauses mid-scene and becomes distressed, refusing to do so in front of Gerald Greystone, the producer; who then fires her and photographs Jennifer Blowdryer, another actress, coaxing her into displaying more skin than she had initially planned.

[1] Kamikaze Hearts, originally named Fact or Fiction,[5] was conceived after Juliet Bashore, a filmmaking student working on a documentary on the porn industry in San Francisco, met Tigr Mennett.

[7] Obsessed with her girlfriend to the point that she adopted Mitchell's drug habit,[nb 1] Mennett met with Bashore and convinced her to change the focus of the documentary.

[11] Kamikaze Hearts received a limited theatrical release in November 1986 by Facets Multi-Media[12] before being played across multiple theaters and sold on home video in the years that followed.

In a review published by the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas praised her for "wisely" allowing individual viewers to decide which portions are true.

[16] Liz Galst of Boston's Gay Community News called Kamikaze Hearts "amazingly powerful," citing its portrayals of Mitch and Tigr's relationship and how pornographic performers navigate the lines between fiction and reality.

He attributed this to the several purposes that the camera served within Kamikaze Hearts, which included the "seemingly impartial witness" of and "catalyst" for the film's events.

[18] Writing for Another Magazine, James Balmont said that although the lesbian mainstream rejected the film when it was first released, Kamikaze Hearts "remains a milestone in queer cinema.