Call Me By Your Name Will Forever Be That Summer

Ever since the eighth grade, I’ve had this faded 70s style graphic T-shirt, printed with a chalky ocean scene of Hawaii. And I’ve kept it all these years because it reminds me of that summer – unannounced bike rides and venturing into my neighbourhood’s forest as 13-year-olds often do.

For Director Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 film Call Me By Your Name, personal nostalgia comes in the form of peaches, colourful 80s swim trunks and melodic piano keys by Sufjan Stevens. It’s the kinds of things that don’t mean much at the moment but will evoke the memories as time goes on.

Set “Somewhere in Northern Italy”, it’s a three-time Oscar-nominated film, and adaptation of the novel by André Aciman that won Best Original Screenplay in 2018. It follows the curious 17-year old Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) as he falls in love with graduate student Oliver (Armie Hammer), his father’s newest research assistant amidst the dreamy summer of 1983. 

Chalamet and Guadagnino capture a moment in time; the essence of your first love, exploring sexuality and understanding young heartbreak as naturally compelling and undramatic as possible. The film serves as Elio’s visual diary entries. Not just in English, but French, Italian and even a hint of German; it’s as multilingual and European as it gets.

There’s this effortless realism in every performance and wardrobe choice. The film’s costume designer Giulia Piersanti (who was also Phoebe Philo’s Céline knitwear designer) didn’t want tacky 80s style tropes or the clothes to distract from the story. Instead, they went around the Italian town getting inspiration from real photos of what locals were wearing during that era. On lazy, hot afternoons at home, it’s mundane to sport the same pair of shorts every week. But somehow Elio makes re-wearing a white vintage T-shirt eating breakfast or lounging on the couch look undeniably cool.

With its breathtaking pans of the lush landscape, this alluring romance is as idealistic yet comfortingly raw - purposefully shot at eye-level using only one lens and simplistic cuts.

There’s a scene where Elio watches Oliver get lost in the music dancing on his first night out. You see what Elio sees while watching his expressions as if another character. Oliver’s perfectly paired Converse Pro Star beaters (famously worn by American basketball player Julius Erving) and airy button-down is a signature to his well-dressed, all-American look. Along with Elio’s blue patterned trunks and parents' brown leather belts, scenes are authentic and stylishly timeless.

Call Me By Your Name never ceases to transport you to a parallel state of bliss. I travelled to Italy in the summer of 2017, and every time I watch it, I’m immediately brought back to my own Tuscan romance, eating gelato and enjoying the European nightlife. Even after my third watch, it’s no wonder why I haven’t stopped crushing on Elio since high school. The heat and 17th-century villa feed my fantasy of hopefully another trip back. 

You watch Elio’s story; the rush of emotions kept to his own as a special secret. And reflect your own, both unforgettable and mysterious as the love of an old T-shirt or pair of swim trunks.

You can stream the film on Kanopy using your Toronto Public Library account or rent or purchase Call Me By Your Name on iTunes.