CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
'D'AMOUR ET D'EAU FRAICHE'
Italy-France 2017 / Lucas Guadagnino / 138min.
You have probably noticed, there is an increasing number of LGBTQ+ films released nationwide each year and it is for the best as we need to educate the masses about it. Andrew Haigh's Weekend (2011) ditched the usual gay stereotypes to replace it with a more realistic approach to male gaze and sexuality and Barry Jenkins's Moonlight (2016) continued to deconstruct heteronormativity, gender and race. A few months before our film, Francis Lee's God's Own Country was released and portrayed male sexuality without artifices nor unnecessary melodrama, but it was Call Me By Your Name that made us remember what it felt like to be young and in love for the first time.
If you haven't watched any Luca Guadagnino films yet, I urge to do so; his films are exquisite. Call Me By Your Name tells the story of Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a young man in the prime of his age, member of a Franco-Italian family, who spends his summer 1983 at home in a northern village of Italy. Between swimming sessions, practicing piano, cycling around town and reading books, Elio's summer days are a mixture of boredom and sexual frustration. The arrival of an older American student, Oliver (Armie Hammer) holds the promise of a new friend, but also triggers unsettling feelings as Elio is drawn to the shape of his body, his manly figure and nonchalance. "Later!" like American say.
Like in any Guadagnino films, the director pays tribute to the richness of the Italian culture. There are numerous mouth watering shots of food, complemented by gorgeous dreamlike landscapes. Something as simple as riding a bike on a hot summer afternoon with the sound cicadas singing to your ears is one of many examples of life's little pleasures that Guadagnino explores. He portrays a given time and a place so well that it resonates with life and cultural references. The relationship between Elio and Oliver constitutes the backbone of the entire film; you cannot help to identify with Elio as you remember your own inadequacy to face your first sexual encounter whilst simultaneously identify with an ideal version of yourself that Oliver embody. Elio might be clueless when it comes to love but his heart is in the right place whereas Oliver plays mind games whilst trying to avoid the subject of his bisexuality. The film doesn't rush our male protagonists into a love affair, it rather takes the time it needs to arouse its audience. I remember reading André Aciman's novel of the same name and feeling frustrated by Oliver's reluctance to fall for Elio, and I'm glad the film captured this psychological and physical torture because it made their story credible and ultimately rewarding. Like in an Italian kitchen, some dishes take time to make and Guadagnino knows that there are no such things as shortcuts. Perhaps Hollywood should take cooking lessons so we could have decent romantic comedies to watch?
If you didn't catch this little gem last year, I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for culture and life. A film as generous as that should not be ignored.