Call Me By Your Name

The movie Call Me By Your Name by director Luca Guadagnino, was one that I watched once, and has always been on my mind since. The romance/drama depicts a 17 year old boy Elio, who had an memorable romantic encounter with a handsome doctoral student who is also an intern of his father, in the summer of 1983, in Lombardy region of Italy. Living in the same residence made their encounters inevitable, and the 17 year old Elio soon finds his awakening desire for the handsome man Oliver. They quickly became inseparable through the course of the summer and during their stay at the villa. However, because of the relentless social prejudice towards a homosexual relationship between the two at the time, they felt that their relationship could never be sanctioned by the ones around them. Eventually, they choose to go their separate ways and decide that the memories will last forever despite the unfortunate ending. This coming of age film left such a big impression on me that I will never recover from it. The setting of the film was in a villa in Lombardy, and the cinematography it produced was amazing. Some remarkable scenes I picked up were: when the two of them sat down at a table at the breakfast court beneath the blazing sun, having traveled through the magnificent allies in the city and a long length of road along the green grass fields; when Oliver pressed Elio against a wall within a hidden corridor and whispered, "call me by your name, and I'll call you by mine"; when Elio and Oliver playfully ran towards the Serio Waterfalls, with the song Mystery of love playing in the background; when at last, Elio sits by the fireplace, sobbing silently, tears pouring down simultaneously with the snowfall outside the worn out window. All of these scenes made an indelible impression on me. This film truly brings out the nostalgia of first love and the pain, all at once. 

Here are some stunning stills from the movie.

Soundtrack “Mystery of Love”