The last time we heard from Abdellatif Kechiche was back in 2019, when his 210-minute “Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo” dropped at Cannes like a bomb — an endless barrage of twerking, sweat, and unsimulated oral sex that had jaws on the floor and critics fleeing the theater.
The film, six years later, still hasn’t seen the light of day outside the Croisette. No distribution, no streaming, no nothing. Just endless post-production limbo and a haze of controversy. It’s become the stuff of legend.
And yet, here we are. Against all odds, the third film in the series, “Mektoub: Canto Due” is finally set to premiere next month at the Locarno Film Festival. Kechiche tried to get this one at Cannes, and Venice, but he’ll have to settle with a premiere in Switzerland, a land of exile.
‘Intermezzo’ was the second entry in Kechiche’s series, following 2017’s ‘Canto Uno.’ The supposed final chapter, “Mektoub: Canto Due,” reportedly wrapped production in late 2019 but was shelved soon after, as Kechiche’s production company slid into financial ruin, and allegations started surfacing about his on-set conduct.
The backlash occurred when ‘Intermezzo’ actress, Ophélie Bau, claimed Kechiche had her perform an unsimulated oral sex scene. Kechiche had previously agreed with Bau that she could have access to the editing room to check on the scene before the cut was finished. An agreement that Kechiche broke, as Bau was not invited to see the film in post-production. She later walked out of its Cannes premiere
Kechiche insists he’s the victim of a media conspiracy, pointing fingers at the French press and Bau’s agent, who he claims orchestrated a takedown campaign to destroy his career. “Mission accomplished,” he’s said in interviews. He’s also maintained that Bau was fully aware of — and enthusiastic about — her role in the film, even requesting her then-boyfriend be cast in the now-infamous cunnilingus scene.
Still, whether you can stomach his methods or not, Kechiche remains one of France’s most vital filmmakers. The Palme d’Or winner (“Blue is the Warmest Color”) has always had an uncanny ear for dialogue, a camera that lingers just long enough to hypnotize, and a taste for pushing boundaries.
What makes these ‘Mektoub’ films so strange and fascinating is how blurred everything feels — is it scripted, improvised, lived? You’re never quite sure. And that uncertainty, that rawness, is what keeps you watching.
Now we’ll see if ‘Canto Due’ manages to do the same. It’s not as lengthy as the first two instalments, with its 134-minute runtime, and isn’t as sexual, there are apparently no sex scenes. Hopefully, it’s not a watered down cut.
As for the rest of the Locarno lineup, I already wrote about Radu Jude’s “Dracula Park” being in the lineup, some of the other notable titles announced this morning include Alexandre Koberidze’s “Dry Leaf,” Fabrice Aragno’s “Le Lac,” Sophy Romvari’s “Blue Heron,” and Ben Rivers’ “Mare’s Nest.”