“People who read are hiders. They hide who they are. People who hide don’t always like who they are.”
-Andre Aciman, Call Me By Your Name.
‘Call Me By Your Name’ is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. It is the story of two young people, who fall in love with each other, over a summer. It is a movie that will swerve you, move you and hit you where it hurts.
Adapted into a movie from a novel by Andre Aciman, ‘Call Me By Your Name’ was definitely one of the first movies that so openly and vividly showcased same-sex love, causing quite a havoc in the cinematic field. The movie’s bold portrayal of homosexuality is what makes it beautiful and also controversial for most people.
Introduction
Name of the Movie - Call Me By Your Name
Year of Release - 2017
Directed by - Luca Guadagnino
Starring - Timothee Chalamet as Elio, Armie Hammer as Oliver, Michael Stuhlbarg as Mr. Perlman, Amira Casar as Annella Perlman and Esther Garrel as Marzia
Genre - Romance/ Drama/ Coming of Age Story
Language - English, French and Italian
Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!
Oliver is a doctoral student of archaeology from America, who visits his professor and his family in Lombardy, Italy one summer as an intern.. There he meets Elio, a seventeen year-old boy and his professor’s son. Elio is still discovering himself and Oliver’s presence kind of disrupts that.
Oliver and Elio spend the summer together reading, swimming and bonding over the beautiful city. Amid the sun-drenched beauty of the city Elio and Oliver experience the awakening of desires that will alter their lives forever.
About the Author
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| Picture Credit- Twitter |
Born on 2nd January, 1951, Andre Aciman is an Italian-American writer. He was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt and now teaches history of literary theory and works of Marcel Proust at the Graduate Centre of City University of New York.
He has authored multiple novels including ‘Call Me By Your Name’, which won the 2007 Lambda Literary Award in the Gay Fiction category and a 1995 memoir ‘Out of Egypt’ which was awarded a Whiting Award.
Although he is most popular for his novel ‘Call Me By Your Name’, Aciman has said in an interview that his best creation is the novel ‘Eight White Nights’.
About the Movie
Elio is a seventeen year old boy who is spending his summer vacations with his family in the beautiful city of Lombardy, Italy. He does what any seventeen year old boy would do, he arties, reads, writes and works on his music.
In comes Oliver, a doctoral candidate of archaeology who has come to intern with his professor (Elio’s father). Oliver’s arrival is not taken well by Elio who finds him arrogant.
As time passes, Elio and Oliver begin spending most of their days together, swimming or reading. Elio accompanies his father and Oliver on the archaeological expeditions and slowly comes to terms with Oliver living with them.
In fact, both of them kind of become friends. Although Elio begins to realize that he might want to be more than friends with Oliver.
Things take an interesting turn when Elio watches Oliver dance with a girl at a club one night, which unsettles him. He pays no heed to it and focuses on his own relationship with his French friend, Marzia.
But unable to understand what was going on with him and contain his feelings, Elio one day tells Oliver about the feelings he has been having for him.
Elio and Oliver after much reluctance begin to see each other secretly, which is not very difficult for them as they almost share a room. They spend some beautiful time together but then Oliver has to leave for a University in some other part of Italy from where he'll go back home to America.
Elio’s parents let him accompany Oliver on this trip and they have a splendid time together. When Oliver leaves for America, Elio is heartbroken. Mr Perlman sits down with him when he comes back and tells him to be grateful for the time he’s had with Oliver.
More time passes and one day the Perlman’s receive a call from Oliver which Elio picks up. Oliver tells him that he’s getting married to a girl, which leaves Elio devastated.
Themes Involved
The first theme that is important in the film is that of gender identity and the acceptance of it. The novel was written in 1983, a time when being gay was almost considered an unnatural crime and therefore while Elio accepts his sexual identity and is accepted by his parents, Oliver has trouble doing the same and chooses to marry a girl.
The next theme is that of pain and heartbreak. When Oliver has to leave for America, Elio is heartbroken but is till hopeful that he might return and they might have a chance but when he receives the call, it’s like all that he believed in and thought about his life just came crashing down and for a seventeen year old boy, of course it is devastating.
Some Beautiful Scenes from the Movie
Scene 1:
Picture Credit- Pinterest
Scene 2:
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| Picture Credit- Pinterest |
Scene 3:
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| Picture Credit- Wordpress |
Scene 4:
Picture Credit- Pinterest
Some of the soulful Soundtracks
1. Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens
2. Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens
The Bottom Line
There are very few pieces of cinematic art that make you feel as much as this movie does. So, if you are looking for a solo movie session, ‘Call Me By Your Name’ is the perfect match.
If you’re not someone who enjoys romantic movies, watch it for the beautiful landscapes of Italy, the amazing direction and the spectacular performances by Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer. The movie is a cinematic treat.
From the locations, to the dialogues, the cast and the music, everything about this movie is perfect.
My ratings for the movie - 5 on 5
Written By - Sakshi Singh
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