Abdelatif Kechiche Quietly Edited Third ‘Mektoub’ Film This Past Spring

Abdellatif Kechiche is supposed to be shooting his next film in Sète right now, at least according to that city's cinema management.

Every year, as Cannes and Venice happen, people wonder if the third ‘Mektoub’ film will be part of those respective lineups. I can report that Kechiche and his editor worked on another cut of the film, for two months, this past Spring.

Although there has still been no indication it will premiere at Venice in September, one remains hopeful that we will get to see the trilogy capper sooner rather than later. It seems to have a completed version, somewhere out there, ready to go.

Kechiche seemed to have regrets regarding ‘Mektoub: Intermezzo,” the second film, being shown at Cannes (when the film was "not finished, not mixed, not totally color-corrected"). He has stated that if he knew at the time that the principal actors would boycott the premiere, he would not have shown it on the Croisette.

The sexually explicit 212 minute film has still not been released anywhere in France or the United States. It’s now the stuff of legend. Kechiche claims to have been the victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by the French media and star Ophelie Bau’s agent, adding that their sole purpose was to destroy his career.

He’s also iterated Bau was more than happy to take the role and show her body off, in all it’s beauty, and that she specifically requested a change in actors for the cunnilingus scene in order for her to shoot the scene with her then-boyfriend.

Kechiche has always had a keen eye for the way people speak and act in real life. As you watch these two Mektoub films, you do wonder how much of it is improvisation, how much of it is written dialogue and how much of it may very well have been actually experienced on camera. That blurring of the lines is absolutely fascinating to watch in this film. I highly recommend the first film, which is available and hasn’t been blackballed.