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There's an interesting piece on Mubi from a critic who hated Canto Uno but views Intermezzo as a radically experimental film exploring physicality, which is how it's sounded to me since the first descriptions of its form started to emerge.

Even sight unseen, Intermezzo is definitely an unprecedented film from a major director.

Imagine between LOTR parts 2 and 3, Peter Jackson just made a 4 hour installment about the hobbits just smoking and hanging out. This is what this is. It is an interlude between two actual films, made as a passage between them. By his own stated intent, the plot such as it is will not expand substantially but it will deepen the milieu and shade the characters a little bit more. It also allows him to shift the focus from the male lead to Ohelia who takes center stage here.

I like film-makers who push the boundaries of cinema in the sense of what can even be cinema - what can even be shown in a movie. I felt that way with Haneke's Amour too. He was showing us old woman going to the toilet and being helped of it. He was showing us a maid vaccuming and cleaning the house. Some engineers installing beds. Haneke basically told us - that this too can be cinema, this is also a part of humanity. This can also be a movie.

Same way Kechichce seems to be telling us - he has young hot horny people partying decadently for 3 hours in a nightclub. He's telling us - this too can be cinema. This too is a part of humanity. And anything that is humanity is of interest to discerning viewers.

So even sight unseen, just in terms of what it is, Intermezzo is an unprecedented film.

The question isn't if this is cinema or not, but if it makes for an interesting one (as in : one in which viewers can find an interest). If not, as if with Climax, it can quickly turn into a hollow stylistic device.

Nasir007 wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 4:37 pm Same way Kechichce seems to be telling us - he has young hot horny people partying decadently for 3 hours in a nightclub. He's telling us - this too can be cinema. This too is a part of humanity. And anything that is humanity is of interest to discerning viewers.

Yes, because surely the question "do people like looking at gyrating asses?" was unanswered until now.

Nasir007 wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 7:12 am

McNulty wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 6:16 am As far as the two actors abandoning the screening, that might be true. However, if you watch the Red Carpet premiere through to the entrance of the Lumiere, it appears they never entered the theater. I sat a few rows behind the cast and didn’t see those two actually sit or enter with the rest of the cast.

How wonderful to have someone here who actually saw the film! The rest of us are going just by hearsay and second hand accounts. Do you mind sharing a few thoughts on the film? Both on its artistic merit and achievement and the charges of exploitation leveled against Kechiche.

It definitely felt like a rung or two below Canto Uno (which I finally managed to find English subs for a week prior to Cannes) and is extremely inaccessible to most audiences, especially those unfamiliar with the intertwined characters. It was also slotted at 10pm and you could feel the restless energy in the theater (to a point where a man screamed "FIN" behind me once the club scene finally ended). People were hesitant to applaud at first, but once the lights turned on (there were no credits, just a dark screen) Keciche received about a min or two of applause, then mumbled something into a microphone and cartoonishly ran off.

Canto Uno sets up a few story lines that are touched upon in Intermezzo but almost feel abandoned or waiting to be fleshed out in the third film (hopefully it gets funding). Intermezzo is more interested in delving into the desire motif than progressing any story. Also, either Hafsia Herzi is an incredible actress or she was completely hammered on screen for the entirety of the club sequence. I'm inclined to believe that most of the actors in the club sequence are actually drunk. I don't know if that necessarily makes the bathroom scene worse in hindsight.

Worth noting too how the film was originally announced as "4hrs" but was cut to 3hr and 32 min and then finally 3hr and 28 min. You could actually tell this was edited down to the wire for the premiere! Kechiche mentioned in the press conference that he will add more scenes back in that had more dialogue. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I dig it. It was a bit exhausting take in (being stuck in a tux) after waiting for 2 hours in line for The Traitor, watching that and then quickly lining up for the 3.5hr Intermezzo, so I was pretty tired! Hopefully someone picks this up but who knows with just how brutal the press has been on this.

McNulty wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 6:36 pmKeciche received about a min or two of applause, then mumbled something into a microphone and cartoonishly ran off.

In case you're interested in catching what he said then : "I apologize to having kept you without warning... so I'll just leave now".
He's always been relatively shy about talking about his work, and later extended this apology by saying "it's his education, he apologizes for keeping people in a theater and drawing the attention on himself".

McNulty wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 6:36 pm

Nasir007 wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 7:12 am

McNulty wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 6:16 am As far as the two actors abandoning the screening, that might be true. However, if you watch the Red Carpet premiere through to the entrance of the Lumiere, it appears they never entered the theater. I sat a few rows behind the cast and didn’t see those two actually sit or enter with the rest of the cast.

How wonderful to have someone here who actually saw the film! The rest of us are going just by hearsay and second hand accounts. Do you mind sharing a few thoughts on the film? Both on its artistic merit and achievement and the charges of exploitation leveled against Kechiche.

It definitely felt like a rung or two below Canto Uno (which I finally managed to find English subs for a week prior to Cannes) and is extremely inaccessible to most audiences, especially those unfamiliar with the intertwined characters. It was also slotted at 10pm and you could feel the restless energy in the theater (to a point where a man screamed "FIN" behind me once the club scene finally ended). People were hesitant to applaud at first, but once the lights turned on (there were no credits, just a dark screen) Keciche received about a min or two of applause, then mumbled something into a microphone and cartoonishly ran off.

Canto Uno sets up a few story lines that are touched upon in Intermezzo but almost feel abandoned or waiting to be fleshed out in the third film (hopefully it gets funding). Intermezzo is more interested in delving into the desire motif than progressing any story. Also, either Hafsia Herzi is an incredible actress or she was completely hammered on screen for the entirety of the club sequence. I'm inclined to believe that most of the actors in the club sequence are actually drunk. I don't know if that necessarily makes the bathroom scene worse in hindsight.

Worth noting too how the film was originally announced as "4hrs" but was cut to 3hr and 32 min and then finally 3hr and 28 min. You could actually tell this was edited down to the wire for the premiere! Kechiche mentioned in the press conference that he will add more scenes back in that had more dialogue. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I dig it. It was a bit exhausting take in (being stuck in a tux) after waiting for 2 hours in line for The Traitor, watching that and then quickly lining up for the 3.5hr Intermezzo, so I was pretty tired! Hopefully someone picks this up but who knows with just how brutal the press has been on this.

Thanks so much. I think I am going to watch Canto Uno soon and then will look forward to Intermezzo.

As we are all well aware, the history of cinema is littered with unfinished or butchered works. I very much hope Kechiche can finish Canto Due.

Kechiche the artist has shown promise in the past and I want to give him a chance. I want to see his work in totality before questioning its worth and his intentions.

Nasir007 wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 12:56 pm It's fall from grace is curious and I am still not sure how much it is linked to Kechiche's recent troubles. In 2013 - it was the perfect storm. It below away critics both in France and the US. It was winning mainstream critics awards in the US and got lots of critics mentions everywhere. Now 6 years later, we see all these people doing best of decade lists and it seems to be MIA after being so beloved just a few years ago! What's happened.

I will add this - the sex scene in the movie is a bit off-putting. There is nothing else in the movie like it. The movie is actually a very naturalistic portrait of a love affair - beautiful and melancholy. It is actually enormously moving. And smack in the middle you have this extremely graphic scene. It is the one thing which I think makes the film a bit inaccessible and makes me hesitate to recommend to people. In a way, it was a breakthrough - lesbian passion hasn't been represented in a major motion picture quite this way, but it was also a wee bit overdone. My observations here aren't puranitical, just from a narrative point of view, it is something that could have been perhaps been slightly toned down.

But yeah, what happened to the movie. Will it make Best of Decade lists at the end of the year? Kechiche made the best of decade list for Cahiers for the 2009 list, so it will be interesting to see if they feature him again. They featured him in 2013 for Blue but ignored him in 2017/2018 for Mektoub. Let's see if Mektoub Intermezzo makes it in their 2019 list and if Blue makes it in their best of 2010s list.

I mean to be fair as mentioned it still does get some talk although some of those links were from 2-3 years ago before #metoo as was Canto Uno, again I do think we've seen a bit of a shift in how sex heavy cinema/TV is viewed since then, perhaps some justified but I honestly don't think so here, at least whats on screen.

I mean Blue is definitely not a film for every adult audience but honestly I didn't really see the sex scenes as that big of a shift to what had come before, the hour or more before that is I think clearly building up sexual tension with emotional tension. I mean there was a mention previously that a lot of the rest of the film was shot as facial closeups(in-between some less subtle hints) but I don't think that means they can't play up sexuality, a lot of focus on characters mouths especially to the degree I remember Exarchopoulos mentioning she was cast partly for hers. In the second half though I think you see a pretty clear shift away from that though and the close ups become less sensuous and more emotionally charged with characters eyes focused on more.

Generally my view tends to be that if your going to put sex in a film you should probably make it a film significantly concerned with sex/desire(or rather the latter should lead to the former), just judging by length of such content doesn't really work as a judgement of what is justified or not for me, indeed a lot of arguably less justified content IMHO tends to be actually shorter scenes that are thrown into films they really have little to do with.

Again only having seen the first part of Mektoub I didn't really see a problem with this aspect of it, its basically showing a lot of mutual male/female desire but didn't feel like it was reducing the women purely to objects of desire and what bad behaviour by the male characters we did see was treated as such.

People talking about filming sequels but my understanding was all of this had been filmed already and it was more about editing and releasing? I mean Blue was edited out of a giant amount of potential footage and I got the impression the idea was for this to be a single film originally. Having seen the first part though I can understand why it spiralled out, the whole thing feels like an exercise in his style, unlike Blue there isn't a reasonably tight story to zero on it and instead these extended conservations and scene setting are most of the appeal. For that reason even without any controversy I can see it as a film that's not going to have as wide an appeal as his previous one.

moreorless wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:38 pm People talking about filming sequels but my understanding was all of this had been filmed already and it was more about editing and releasing?

There is conflicting information about the status. I will try to recount here what I have been able to find.

Claim here being that filming started on Sept 8 2016!

filming started on September 8, 2016 in Sète (a city he finds after La Graine et le Mule ). Very discreet about the content of a film detached from the book, Abdellatif Kechiche nevertheless revealed that it would be "novelistic", similar to "a family saga [...], [a] philosophical tale". First thought as a single film, Mektoub, My love became a diptych composed of two different feature films: The dice are thrown (to be linked to the term Mektoub meaning that destiny is drawn) and Pray for Jack. Narrating the return of Amin, a young screenwriter, in his hometown during the summer holidays, these films evoke "a quest for light", then "his loss" while painful choices are available to a character hesitating between professional and personal life.

All predictions announced it: the film was destined to appear in the list of three or four French selected in official competition Cannes. However, a grain of sand has seized the machine: following a dispute with France Televisions , Abdellatif Kechiche will not be able to present his feature films in Cannes this year. Having adapted two films instead of one, he confided in an interview in Nice-Matinhaving to settle a problem of contracts and rights before the tribunal de grande instance before being able to think of any projection. Disappointed at the idea of ​​not taking his casting on the Croisette next May, he still hopes for the 71st edition in 2018 even if it must logically delay its release in theaters. In the meantime, Abdellatif Kechiche will turn Sister Marguerite , the famous biopic on which he was already working in 2015, as well as The Lamb of God , a road movie.

http://www.lebleudumiroir.fr/mektoub-my-love-kechiche/

Claim here being that in Feb 2017, in the edit, Kechiche discovered there were 2 films. And he WANTED to present BOTH at Cannes in 2017. So that would indicate, he was ready in Feb 2017 with both the films.

A week before Thierry Fremaux, general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival , announced the bulk of the official selection of the 70 th edition, the director Abdellatif Kechiche says in the edition of April 5 of Nice-Matin , he will not come to present his latest film.

"A blockage occurred during full editing in February , says the filmmaker to the journalist Franck Leclerc to whom he had already confided at length after the controversy over his triple gold Palm in 2013 for La Vie d'Adele . I had signed with several financial partners - France Télévisions, Canal +, Pathé Films. I had signed up for a movie. On arrival, there are two. This is outside the normal framework, which has been a problem with the contracts. Especially at France Télévisions. "

From the initial teenage chronicle, Kechiche and Ghalia Lacroix, her companion, coscenarist and editor since L'Esquive , would have drawn a family saga in two independent films of one another: The dice are thrown and Pray for Jack .

Abdellatif Kechiche entrusted the file to the lawyer Jérémie Assous, known for having obtained the requalification of the contracts of the participants in reality TV programs in employment contracts. "We will cry on May 28 when the Festival is over ," says Kechiche in Nice-Matin . But we will have a hope, Cannes 2018. " Strategy of despair?

https://www.lemonde.fr/festival-de-cann ... 66360.html

April 2017 is the first time he says there could potentially be a third film.

"No one attacks me and I do not attack anyone, it is necessary to clarify the situation," added the filmmaker, who works on the adaptation of a novel by François Bégaudeau, the Injury, the true. The director changed his project to "something much more romantic", "a sort of family saga [...] of philosophical tale [...], which gave the arrival two independent films one of the other ", entitled The dice are thrown and Pray for Jack. "One deals with a search for light and the other with its loss. And a third component is not excluded, "he adds.

https://next.liberation.fr/cinema/2017/ ... es_1560677

The first time we even heard about the existence of a 3rd part (3rd part being Intermezzo) was in Jan 2019.

Yesterday evening Monday, January 28, in Paris, the French Syndicate of Critics of Cinema handed over its annual prizes and crowned Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno , sacred best French film. According to our informers present on the spot (the journalist Damien Leblanc in mind), the director Abdellatif Kechiche took advantage of his speech of thanks to reveal the title of the continuation of his masterpiece, released last year in theaters: no not Mektoub, My Love: Canto Due , as one might have supposed, but Mektoub my love: Intermezzo . This suggests that there could be a third film - an intermezzo, in music, being a musical interlude placed between two scenes or two more imposing acts.

From the beginning, the Mektoub project does not stop changing its shape anyway. Originally, Kechiche's adaptation of François Bégaudeau's novel, La Blessure, la vrai , was called Mektoub is Mektoub , then became a diptych whose two parts were titled Les Dices and Prayer for Jack . " One deals with a quest for light and the other with its loss , and a third part is not excluded," said Kechiche early 2017 in Nice Matin. If we still do not know where and when will be shown Intermezzo (at the next Cannes Film Festival?), We suppose in any case that we are far from finished with the saga Mektoub, opus magnum of a Kechiche snubbed by the Caesar (the film received only one nomination for the next ceremony - best female hope for Ophélie Bau) but fortunately adored by the critics.

http://www.premiere.fr/Cinema/News-Cine ... -Canto-Uno

And now in May 2019, this press release says that Intermezzo was shot in 2018 for 14 weeks!

The film, of ' a 3-hour 30, was also accompanied by the Film Commission Occitan (LR Cinema / Gindou Cinema / Movie 32) during 4 years in order to facilitate ' presence in Occitan region of ' cinematic adventure conducted by the director Abdellatif Kechiche . Mektoub My love: Intermezzo turned in 2018 for 70 days (14 weeks of filming) between Sète, La Grande Motte and Agde. Numerous technicians, actors, comedians and technical service providers from the region collaborated on this project. Of particular note that the two main roles Shain Boumedine and Ophélie Bau live in the Hérault.

http://www.espacedatapresse.com/fil_dat ... cp=2855860

So here is the garbled chronology -

1. Kechiche shoots a single movie in late 2016
2. In Feb 2017 discovers that he has 2 films on hand. Which causes a dispute with financiers.
3. He is a promised a slot for his film/films at Cannes 2017 but due to disputes misses the festival. But apparently, he was ready to present the entire larger 2 film saga.

4. Cut to late 2017 and he presents Canto Uno at Venice and releases it into theaters in early 2018.

5. Now sometime in 2018 - he goes back to film more footage (this new footage will eventually become Intermezzo).

6. In Jan 2019, announces his duology is actually a trilogy and that the next film is called Intermezzo.

7. Reclaims his debt from Thierry Fremaux, and gets a comp slot for Intermezzo.

8. In May 2019, Intermezzo premieres at Cannes. The movie introduces some new characters (especially Marie). He also says the 3rd part Canto Due will introduce yet more new characters.

9. And here we are. We apparently shot the movie in 2016, and we are still no closer to seeing the finished trilogy. If he went back and shot Intermezzo in 2018, that would mean he would have to shoot material for Canto Due as well to make sure it lines up after Intermezzo because otherwise what will happen to the character of Marie?

So this is all I got at the moment. If someone can help make sense of this I will be glad to know!

Also found this very striking essay on Mektoub Intermezzo.
https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-exh ... intermezzo

For what it's worth - this essay while unsparing of Kechiche and his attitude does come away with the grudging admission that yes Intermezzo is consequential and has something to say and show and has a right to exist, kinda defying the mainstream American press which wants this film and the director completely destroyed.

Also this article somehow says that this movie was shot in a single night during the filming of Canto Uno? Huh? I don't even understand anymore what was shot when and included in what movie.

The talk around the third film seems to shift though, the 16/17 quotes seems more like he believes he could make a third film but considers the two films he has a complete story. The position now though seems to suggest that the third film is needed to tell the existing story?

Perhaps what we've seen is him go back and film more material for the second part? that could mean he has the third already filmed? or perhaps the second part was a combination of existing and new material and he'd want the same for the third part? Again though the talk with Blue was he had 40-50 hours of potential footage to work with after shooting for 5 months so the original shoot for this film could potentially have provided a lot of room for the project to sprall out across multiple films.

I would echo that article that the first film anyway didn't really feel like something dependant on a follow up, the narrative might not be complete but the style of the piece is really the attraction. I can understand the "vain" criticism of the first half since the parallels to the director do seem pretty obvious and its hard not to view this as some kind of idealised version of his youth, not one were his character is shown as especially heroic/moral but more as a cocksure observer who rarely loses his cool detachment although to be fair the same is true of the female lead as well.

For his opinion on Blue I actually liked that that film nailed its colours to the mask in terms of drama and politics and pushed its visuals. Over the last decade or more we've had endless "neo neo realism" cinema that's focused on giving us sidelong views of a small slice of a characters life and a lot of unresolved tension, not that I haven't enjoyed some of it but seeing a film with more visual ambition really commit to an emotional/political catharsis that gave the actresses something to get their teeth into was a breath of fresh air(the same with Two Days, One Night).Again though I do wonder how much such reaction is due to the films politics, its not exactly a very common message in this milieu is it? a negative view of the intelligentsia generally comes from within it and rarely combined with such social issues also not being viewed entirely positively.

yoloswegmaster wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 6:53 pm According to Manohla Dargis, the festival forced Kechiche to edit the film from 4 hours and that the cut material is a long threesome sex scene.

I heard the Manhola podcast. She basically rips Kechiche a new asshole. But she was never onbaord with Blue either. She to her credit, tried to engage with it artistically, ignoring the social justice lens, and still says did not find anything worthwhile.

She also said she was reviewing the film on the podcast because she flat out said Mektoub Intermezzo is never going to get a release in the United States and that is true.

The only possible release for this film I think might be that if and that's a huge if, he ever completes the trilogy - there will be 10 hours of material. They could then break it into a 10 episode mini-series and dump it on Netflix in that format.

moreorless wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 6:58 am The talk around the third film seems to shift though, the 16/17 quotes seems more like he believes he could make a third film but considers the two films he has a complete story. The position now though seems to suggest that the third film is needed to tell the existing story?

Perhaps what we've seen is him go back and film more material for the second part? that could mean he has the third already filmed? or perhaps the second part was a combination of existing and new material and he'd want the same for the third part? Again though the talk with Blue was he had 40-50 hours of potential footage to work with after shooting for 5 months so the original shoot for this film could potentially have provided a lot of room for the project to sprall out across multiple films.

I would echo that article that the first film anyway didn't really feel like something dependant on a follow up, the narrative might not be complete but the style of the piece is really the attraction. I can understand the "vain" criticism of the first half since the parallels to the director do seem pretty obvious and its hard not to view this as some kind of idealised version of his youth, not one were his character is shown as especially heroic/moral but more as a cocksure observer who rarely loses his cool detachment although to be fair the same is true of the female lead as well.

For his opinion on Blue I actually liked that that film nailed its colours to the mask in terms of drama and politics and pushed its visuals. Over the last decade or more we've had endless "neo neo realism" cinema that's focused on giving us sidelong views of a small slice of a characters life and a lot of unresolved tension, not that I haven't enjoyed some of it but seeing a film with more visual ambition really commit to an emotional/political catharsis that gave the actresses something to get their teeth into was a breath of fresh air(the same with Two Days, One Night).Again though I do wonder how much such reaction is due to the films politics, its not exactly a very common message in this milieu is it? a negative view of the intelligentsia generally comes from within it and rarely combined with such social issues also not being viewed entirely positively.

Just based on the conversation we have been having - I would actually encourage Kechiche to experiment with real sex or include real sex in his next film. It's clearly a wall he's kinda been banging up against. He's increasingly striving towards realism in sex scenes. He has the 2 actresses wear prosthetic pussies for Blue and in this one reportedly included a real cunnilingus scene. Many great directors have experimented with including real sex in their films Giraudie (Stranger by the lake), von Trier (Idiots, Antichrist, Nymphomaniac), Lanthimos (Dogtooth), Noe (Love), Dumont (Life of Jesus) etc. So there is precedent. He clearly seems to be going in that direction with escalating sexuality in his films. Maybe showing real sex would mean that he can ease up on all the 'suggestive' stuff he shoots which his critics say is leering.

Whilst I don't automatically have a problem with that provided the performers aren't pressured into anything there not comfortable with I'm not sure theres really much to be gained from it personally and the "this is reality" seems a bit of a cheap defence to me.

Really though I tend to think his recent films have been a deliberate shift away from visual realism, he's moved much more towards looking to heighten audiences emotional response. As I said earlier the idea that Blue was some kitchen sink realism visually besides the sex scenes does not reflect the film at all for me, Exarchopoulos's face is the canvas for just about every lighting effect El Fani can come up with to try and get across the characters emotional state, yes its trying to stay somewhat realistic giving the impression of environmental lighting but a heightened realism. I think you see the same in the sex scenes, whilst yes he's aiming at realism to some degree the intension is to turn on the audience. What would decide whether the film was just "leering" or not for me though would be whether he sells the attraction between the characters, whether turning the audience on was a reflection of the characters emotional state and personally I think it was along with showing believable emotional release of built of tension.

Again think most of the "leery" sex in cinema tends to be directors like Bay forcing it into narratives were it really serves little purpose but titillating the audience(although lacking the emotional content I think makes it far less so). In Canto Uno anyway it still feels obviously tied to the characters, not only is there two way attraction with a good looking often shirtless male lead involved but the female character has substance to her and enjoy being the object of desire without having to give up any social power as a result. When we do se bad behaviour from a male character towards another female character elsewhere its treated as such showing the emotional outcome for her.

http://www.allocine.fr/amp/article/fich ... 86220.html

Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo should be released next year in France.
Canto due could be ready for Berlin or Cannes.

That article indicates that Intermezzo will be heavily cut (perhaps by as much as 50 minutes) for its French theatrical release, with little indication as to what is being omitted.

Also, I'm amazed that Kechiche is at all able to swing the production of Canto Due, between the hostile reception/commercial non-success of the first two films and accusations of sexual assault against Kechiche.

Didn’t the first installment just land on quite a few top ten lists for the decade though? I know the second just got blasted at its premiere but maybe Kechiche’s still got a leg to stand on? Plus it appears a lot harder to get canceled outside of the U.S.

I wouldn’t want to hang out with him though

Canto Uno was critically acclaimed in France.
Even Intermezzo had its defenders

And it recently appeared in four of Lesinrocks top 10 of decade lists.
https://www.lesinrocks.com/2019/11/28/c ... critiques/

I hope the rumours of Ophélie Bau being edited out of the film aren't true. She was the heart and soul of the first instalment.

therewillbeblus wrote:Didn’t the first installment just land on quite a few top ten lists for the decade though? I know the second just got blasted at its premiere but maybe Kechiche’s still got a leg to stand on? Plus it appears a lot harder to get canceled outside of the U.S.

I wouldn’t want to hang out with him though

Canto Uno has been well received in France, including by a wider press after its national release. Intermezzo however has been panned at Cannes including by people who liked Canto Uno, and I doubt this will change after a wider release that might reach to critics even less open to this kind of movies.

Finally finished Canto Uno and I think that in my mind I'm making it out to be far more interesting than it actually is. Kechiche at first appears to be channelling Rozier's loose hold on narrative and Rohmer's interactive observation breathing life into the banal, but opposingly dressed up in shiny superficialities. We are afforded some actors (Ophélie Bau, Lou Luttiau) who provide authentic expressions that subtly indicate a glimpse of Du Cote D'Orouët's fearless ability to leave us at a distance yet force a feeling of intimate connection to these objective expressions; but the camera isn’t generous enough to focus on these truths, instead diverting attention constantly to the distractions of visual saturation of physical beauty (people mostly, but also natural and unnatural inanimate settings) to make any authentic pronouncement stick. Perhaps the point is that in our modern age as Kechiche sees it, the artificiality is so blended with our milieu that it becomes authentic, that an overwhelmingly sexual gaze, especially in the mystical energy of body movement as expression, is more honest that a removed one that seeks to pierce the distractions of the flesh to the core of the human. I have wondered before in my writeup on Black Venus that maybe he is suggesting that this beauty isn’t a barrier but an access point and substance of value itself, with those of us searching for more emotional responses divorced from this as kidding ourselves and ignorant via a false sense of intellectual superiority to its significance.

Conversations are also less ‘deep’ in this film, but are "realistic" conversations as emotionally vulnerable or philosophically dense as in a Rohmer film? Is it possible that there is an obnoxiously aloof protective coating of sociological engagement that is every bit as honest as the cinematic definitions of authentic anthropology? These are provocative questions, but it's too bad the film itself doesn’t have much to engage with in a way that keeps this audience member invested for three hours, aside from some skin, music, beauty, and brief pockets of expressions that tell us nothing yet feel even more truthful for that very reason. I appreciated that a lot, at least. I just wish that the characters were more interesting or developed to help forge some connection between us and them, because I think this could have been a fresh take on those nouvelle vague concepts if perhaps we could share the beauty with the soul. As it is, I can't call this film a success even if it's onto a unique strategy to apply to the strong roots of some of the best films, and my favorite type of film, that seeks to signify authentic human behavior and emotion using creatively diverse possibilities of the medium.

An article in Le Parisien (as related by Jordan Ruimy) states that it is highly likely that Intermezzo and Canto Due (which, amazingly, was shot and edited) might never be released, owing both to toxic reception and the failure of the production to clear the music rights for the tracks of the nightclub sequences in Intermezzo.

Psst, Abdellatif, buddy … ever heard of a little something we like to call "backchannels"?

furbicide wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 3:47 am Psst, Abdellatif, buddy … ever heard of a little something we like to call "backchannels"?

I'll be surprised if these ever materialize there. If they won't be 'released' anywhere, it's hard to imagine, unless someone with access to both the prints and the channels chooses to do so at risk, but there's a big difference between an old title like Stop! with less eyes on it getting upped by some noble saint than this debacle