I got to be in a unique position as both a fan of Abdellatif Kechiche and the main actor in one of his films.
Even more unique I got to experience ‘Mektoub my love’ Abdellatif’s most insane project.
For those that don’t know Abdellatif Kechiche his films had a reputation for incredibly realistic acting and giving actors their careers and he had a reputation for being very difficult to work with.
To specifically define ‘difficult to work with’ extremely long shooting hours. He gives actors a lot of ‘homework’ in the sense of many books to read and things to study. His scenes are usually very physically demanding in the terms of there’s usually a physical brawl of some sort or a long dance scene or a long sex scene.
There is a scene in ‘Mektoub my love’ of Shain Boumedine running.
I found that scene incredibly terrifying, like watching graphic torture scene because all I could do is wonder how long Shain was running.
A week? Two weeks? It could easily have been a month knowing Abdellatif Kechiche.
The rumors of Abdellatif’s working conditions are true.
But most of the torment fell to the crew not so much the cast.
At least for myself, I felt I was properly worked not overly worked.
But I did personally feel a sort of responsibility to suffer at least a little bit.
In my own mind I was getting a free ride in Europe with zero qualifications of being there.
I felt it should have been challenging and I should do my best to do my part. Not be a total load and contribute something.
Do my job essentially. So I never felt overworked I felt like I worked exactly as hard as I should have, no more and no less.
The biggest strain on me doing that film was losing weight. I lost about twenty pounds or so very, very quickly.
Abdellatif Kechiche kept turning up the pressure on that. He got me a physical trainer and he kept increasing the time I spent working out to the point that it was almost ludicrous.
But I was smart as shit in my mid twenties. I could read people in a split second with about eighty five percent accuracy. (I lost that ability in my late twenties because I got insecure. But it’s coming back now in my thirties)
I knew Abdellatif Kechiche didn’t care about my weight. He wanted to see the dedication. So I didn’t feel a ‘pressure to lose weight’. I just did as I was instructed and didn’t complain. That was all he wanted.
And I’m not much more than a pitbull. Just give me loyalty and something to attack and that’s about it.
On ‘Mektoub my love’ Abdellatif Kechiche went off the rails. Even for him.
He’s always been messy and disorganized when it comes to shooting schedules and getting along with producers.
He’s always caused drama and trouble with anyone that might have authority over him and his projects.
But he could usually be talked off the cliff. Reasoned with so he didn’t completely blow everything up with everyone.
But on not on Mektoub my love.
He was given a budget for one film.
Halfway through shooting he says he’s now making two films.
So we shoot more.
Then two films actually turns into three films.
He fights with every producer that exists, even the ones that adore him and want him to succeed, burns every bridge and continues to do as he likes.
And yet we all kept going along with it and putting up with it.
Even the producers that Abdellatif actually terrorized.
They stayed with him.
I stayed with him, all the actors (I suppose excluding Ophelie Bau but she came around at the end) stayed with him.
Why?
Because we got to be apart of something real.
Abdellatif Kechiche may be difficult to work with it, but he’s real. He doesn’t aim to succeed. Or to get the most impressive result.
He’s open to losing entirely. To risking everything and doing everything wrong, and to facing total ridicule.
Because he’s not going to be fake.
A person like that can be incredibly moving and inspiring. It’s difficult not to follow them.
Because having to be fake to get by is such a terrible fate.
It’s more fun to do something real and just burn for it.
I’m also someone who has spent pretty much my entire life trying to be a writer.
And in ‘trying to be’ a writer there is a thing I understand better than many people and it’s what makes me most respect Abdellatif Kechiche as a director.
Anytime we as human beings attempt to create something (whether it’s artistic, engineering, scientific. Those are all creative pursuits) we start out with an abstract version of that thing.
Most people these days clean up the abstract very abruptly. They don’t let it stay messy and vague. They instantly explain everything or give something an exact direction.
They give it reason and logic and plausibility.
There aren’t very many people that are willing to experiment with the abstract.
Because most people want the result and they don’t want to be ridiculed. Which is fair, I’m not criticizing that.
And Abdellatif Kechiche caused himself problems mostly by being a dick to a lot people. He burned a lot of bridges with the people that kept throwing water on the fire and really trying to put it out.
He was just a fire starter with authority that’s how he got himself in so much trouble really.
He did not cause himself problems by experimenting with the abstract.
That’s why we all loved him so much. Because he didn’t cut right to the result. He experimented.
Mektoub my love is a beautiful sequence of this. Of the abstract moving to the finished project where it had the opportunity to develop itself into something very unique and just entirely its own.
Mektoub canto due has its very own vibe. There is no film like that film. And it feels very well made and very deliberately crafted.
Intermezzo. That’s a crying shame that it will never be seen by most people. It was a very weird movie. But the experimentation of it was very interesting to see. You only need to see it once. But it should be seen.
And canto uno was the most tentative film. You can’t really say too much about it. It’s superb acting. It has that beautiful lamb scene that is unforgettable but most of the film is so light that it doesn’t make a super strong impression.
It leaves a lot open.
But canto uno is what makes canto due so shocking and satisfying to watch.
Jess lanai 