Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno
2018 · Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
Original language: French
- romance
- drama
The story
Amin, an aspiring screenwriter living in Paris, returns home for the summer, in Sète, South of France. It is a time of reconnecting with his family and his childhood friends. Together with his cousin Tony and his best friend Ophélie, he spends his time between the Tunisian restaurant run by his parents, the local bars and the beaches frequented by girls on holiday.
What it’s like
Warm, sun-bleached summer light pours over Sète's beaches, harbour cafés and crowded nightclubs, shot with a restless handheld camera that lingers on bodies, faces and the glitter of sweat and sea spray. The palette runs to bronze skin, pale blue water and saturated golden afternoons, while the soundtrack folds in pop and Mediterranean-tinged music that swells as people dance late into the night. The mood is languid and sensual, a hazy, easy-going vibe with long stretches of idle talk, flirtation and quiet observation that shift abruptly into loud, crowded energy. Its people drift through a season of desire and small disappointments, a young writer half-watching his own life as the summer unfolds without much urgency. Pacing is slow and conversational, built on long scenes that feel like watching real people in real places. Intensity is low on violence and gore, but the frank, extended sexual content is explicit and frequent, and some scenes are prolonged enough to feel uncomfortable. It suits adults who want a sensual, immersive summer mood rather than a tidy narrative, and it is best approached with that in mind.
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