Revisiting Call Me By Your Name.

Call Me By Your Name (Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer) has received backlash for portraying a 'borderline pedophilic' and potentially abusive relationship in a positive manner. Personally I think these gray elements of the film only add to the enticingly 'taboo' nature of the relationship initially set up by its homosexuality; but I know there are many who disagree. And yes, Oliver does know he cannot stay with Elio but I maintain that - as I said at the end of this video - the main antagonist in this film is anxiety surrounding heteronormativity. Oliver knows that this is the only chance he has to experience this kind of love. The two moments which humaised Oliver's complex dilemma for me were 1. when he said "Do you have any idea how glad I am we slept together?
" and 2. When he reflects on his actions in the 'fire dream' sequence shown at the end of this video. In both of these moments we empathise with his struggle, and so he is not an 'antagonist' in the traditional sense because we can understand his actions.

Instead, I wanted to focus on the sensual experience created by director Guadagnino, which I believe to be the driving force of Call Me By Your Name's timeless quality. As Sufjan Stevens wrote in his hit song Mystery of Love for the film's soundtrack, the film is about Seeing Without Eyes - a thesis I explore in terms of both direction and narratology in this video essay.

Yes, I know I completely mispronounce Anchise. Hard sound, everyone! Not soft. I cringe every time I watch myself say it - and I had to edit this video.

I would love to discuss in the comments! Or feel free to reach me on my social media:

Thanks for watching!

[marcustranfilm]

Hey everyone, thanks for watching. I just wanted to jump in and respond in this pinned comment to a beef some of you seem to be having with my interpretation of the ending! Particularly what the "Does mom know?" refers to.


Also, one reason I interpreted the scene this way was because I thought there was no way the mom wouldn't know what was going on between Elio & Oliver. From the start of the film she seemed more clued in than Elio's father did. She was encouraging Elio to warm up to Oliver and become friends because she sensed a connection. And you can't really watch this car scene at 9:01 of this video and think that she didn't know how much Oliver meant to Elio. Plus she obviously knows what's going on at the phone call scene at 11:14 - she is the one who suggests Oliver get some time to talk to Elio alone.

So for me, Guadagnino took that ambiguous line in the books and encourages the interpretation of "does mom know?" where it refers to Mr Perlman's previous relationship and sexuality - particularly because Elio asks just after Mr Perlman reveals it.

There's also the interpretation made by Charles Barber in the comments which sees Mr Perlman lie to his son about the mom's knowledge of Elio's and Oliver's relationship. This is not how I saw it when I watched the film but it is an equally poetic and interesting take.

The best thing about this film is its subtelty and ambiguity - so feel free to interpret any and every way you want. That's the beauty of it ❤️

[alex.garces]

No one's talking about how tailor-made Sufjan Stevens songs to this masterpiece. I mean, we can't deny the impact of his art to the film; especially on the ending scene, Visions of Gideon.

[wrightgregson]

Elio broke the world's heart with that final scene in front of the fire.

[davidkonevky]

This movie felt like a fleeting memory, it's vivid but blurry at the same time. It's slow and patient but it feels like seconds when you look back. It's bittersweet

The fact that the director managed to make us feel that through the cinematography is so impressive. It's "show, don't tell" to it's highest exponent. He manages to tell a story that would sound so boring on paper on a masterpiece by highlighting the little details, and mainly, the character's internal thoughts. As this movie after all is the mental struggle of two men finding parts of themselves they'd never seen before.

[alexandrelot]

I just love how Elio's father LOUDLY diminishes his son's internalized homophobia and then also ALMOST QUIETLY gives him that monologue.

[alicagrebacova]

It’s not about how entertaining the film was to watch for the first time. It’s the impact it had on my heart once the screen turned black. It felt as if I’ve lived through everything myself. Lucas has given the viewer enough time to form a close relationship with both of them, resulting in the most painful heartbreak.

[sebval]

The dad’s speech always gives me validation. I keep coming back to it just to feel human. It gives me great comfort. This film is a masterpiece

[SiberianHeartty]

Honestly, Call me by your name is such a subtle story, not much happens, but you can just *feel* it without many words or drama… Thats peak cinematography tbh. I have nothing against movies or shows that are pretty explicit, but works like this are just on another level, you can truly feel and experience everything that characters did

[juanolivar]

who doesn't want to live a summer love like this? when it ends we suffer, but life makes sense while it lasts...

[roc]

I am a straight male and never thought I would watch a film like this. But I had heard nothing but great things about this movie so, being a lover of cinema, I finally watched it for the first time tonight. I am awestruck. This movie just GETS what infatuation and strong romance FEELS like, in film form. Everything from the direction, the performances, the cinematography, the musical score, the sounds of nature in the countryside, this movie just feels so dreamlike and yet, everything feels so real. So raw. So powerful. This movie just highlights how low effort most of the romance films are today. It’s been hours since the end credits rolled and I’m STILL thinking about this film. Bravo to all involved in getting this film to the cinemas.

[engrmggy]

Every time Sufjan Stevens' song plays, I immediately feel things or remember how I felt watching the movie.

[fenestrapain]

The seasonal fruit silently shows time passing too. In the book, which is broken into parts, apricots, peaches, and figs are featured in order. Apricots are ripe in June, and not for long. It’s an early sign of summer, but one that is really relished. Peaches are the height of summer. And figs, ripening all summer long, are an anticipated but almost forlorn fruit. By the time they ripen, summer is closing. They’re delicious, but sad. In Italy and in my Italian family in America, the seasons of produce silently capture the associated feelings of times during the year. In the book, which I read after I saw the movie, when I realized this, it added this weight to my heart. No, they’re eating figs in Roma; the end is near.

[nickmartinez]

I didn't realize that so many people interpreted the father's monologue as his coming out to his son as queer. I always read it as simply a giving away of one's self to love. How he never allowed himself to "throw caution to the wind" and feel emotions to their fullest extent because of his fear of pain. I can definitely see this as a specifically queer feeling, but I also think it's universal for people to fear feeling. As someone who never puts myself out there, that's what touched me, beyond my viewpoint as a queer person. This film inspires me to investigate myself and express what I find.

[rawkrXbabee]

That ending father-son moment makes me cry every time. It reminds me of something my mother told me after my boyfriend broke up with me when I was 22, she said that she wishes she had loved someone as deeply as I loved my ex. She doesn't think she ever opened herself up as much as I had in that relationship. Its crazy to think about the depth of love and how everyone's is different.

[levie]

I kinda hate you for bringing back the emptiness I felt after watching this film. I felt so hollow: to make you experience CMBYN's world so vividly and take it away so abruptly is just cruel. You're just left with tiny shards of memories; hoping the fire that once burned so passionately, now reduced to embers, can soothe the longing you feel. The air that once scorched your skin made you shiver as it turned into a bone-chilling breeze. At least that's what it felt like when the movie began in Summer and ended in Winter. A tragic end to a utopia is so contrasting it makes you feel numb.

I didn't know movie reviews can make you cry - I didn't know that I'd cry! But I love this so much. I subscribed because I'll surely be waiting for your next videos.

[hitpodi]

He directed this so beautifully. It feels like you’re watching someone else’s memories, especially when there are long scenes where the camera is placed a bit away from the people. It really makes it feel like your watching something personal.

[katelinmong]

when you were talking about the dirty used clothing, you show clips of oliver’s swimsuits. in the book elio describes the different color swimsuits as oliver’s different moods and how he’s feeling. “He had, it took me a while to realize, four personalities depending on which bathing suit he was wearing. Knowing which to expect gave me the illusion of a slight advantage. Red: bold, set in his ways, very grown-up, almost gruff and ill-tempered—stay away. Yellow: sprightly, buoyant, funny, not without barbs—don’t give in too easily; might turn to red in no time. Green, which he seldom wore: acquiescent, eager to learn, eager to speak, sunny—why wasn’t he always like this? Blue: the afternoon he stepped into my room from the balcony, the day he massaged my shoulder, or when he picked up my glass and placed it right next to me.”- quote from the book. also just shows the cinematography that luca showed

[eceakdeniz]

You can really see the juxtaposition of cold and warmth in that last scene in front of the fireplace. The snow in the background together with the desaturated, blue colored effect evokes what we associate with winter, while the warm colored light reflected to Elio's face by the fire creates that warm feeling that the associate with summer. This shot really demonstrates the contrast between the two seaons. For Elio, the winter represents the end of summer, coldness, loneliness and heartbreak, whereas the summer represents warmth and love. And in the middle of winter, there he is longing for the summer, knowing that he'll never have it again.

[AperoSpritz]

So I went to Crema, Italy where the movie was shot. The hype had died down so the town was quiet. I actually needed a bike to get around. I spent two days there exploring the scene locations. For example, the spring fountain was surprisingly beautiful with super chilly water. The whole visit was serene, wholesome, and effing hot. Loved every second of it :)

[willewiking]

This movie made me feel things I've never felt before. It just seemed magical and like fine art. The way he directed it and the way Timothy portrayed the character. Never seen anything that has touched me like this. Everything feels magical, and like you've experienced it all with them. Somehow. And now this video reminded me and I am once again close to tearing up. Fuck