Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno

"For love, only Mektoub can decide."

2018 2h 54m FR

👍

6.7

SOLID

🥫

59%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 349🥫59%Rotten Tomatoes●59Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 4,567

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“For love, only Mektoub can decide.”

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Cast

Shaïn Boumedine
Amin
Ophélie Bau
Ophélie
Salim Kéchiouche
Tony
Lou Luttiau
Céline
Alexia Chardard
Charlotte
Hafsia Herzi
Camélia
Delinda Kechiche
Amin's mother
Kamel Saadi
Kamel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Writers: Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghalya Lacroix
Languages: English, Arabic, French, Russian
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 174 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 11% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Arabic, French, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Mektoub, My Love Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, shot by Marco Graziaplena. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rémi Barbot. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Abdellatif Kechiche directs. Marco Graziaplena behind the camera. Rémi Barbot scores. Nathanaëlle Gerbeaux cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in English, Arabic, French, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 174 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 11% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 8 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Arabic, French, Russian.
5International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
6Part of the "Mektoub, My Love Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, shot by Marco Graziaplena. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Rémi Barbot. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Nathanaëlle Gerbeaux shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Shaïn Boumedine and Ophélie Bau and Salim Kéchiouche carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "For love, only Mektoub can decide.".
12IMDB entry: tt6121444 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 31 themes, including "sea", "dance", "friendship", "sheep".

The technical file

Cinematography: Marco Graziaplena
Original score: Rémi Barbot
Editing: Nathanaëlle Gerbeaux
Production design: Michel Gionti
Runtime: 174 min · 2h 54m
Status: Released
Budget: $9,898,623
Box office: $1,132,997
Return: 11% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 18A
IMDB: Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 59/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 4,567 votes

Awards

5 wins & 3 nominations total

Part of

Mektoub, My Love Collection

A two-film adaptation of François Bégaudeau's novel "The Injury", released between 2017 and 2025, separated by an interlude screened at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, which has never been shown anywhere else.