Call Me By Your Name (film)
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''Call Me by Your Name'' () is a 2017
coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
film directed by
Luca Guadagnino Luca Guadagnino (; born 10 August 1971) is an Italian film director and producer. His films are characterized by their emotional complexity, eroticism, and lavish visuals. Guadagnino has received numerous accolades, including a Silver Lion, alon ...
. Its screenplay, by James Ivory, who also co-produced, is based on the 2007 novel by André Aciman. The film is the final installment in Guadagnino's thematic "Desire" trilogy, after '' I Am Love'' (2009) and '' A Bigger Splash'' (2015). Set in northern Italy in 1983, ''Call Me by Your Name'' chronicles the romantic relationship between 17-year-old Elio Perlman (
Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...
) and Oliver ( Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate-student assistant to Elio's father Samuel ( Michael Stuhlbarg), an archaeology professor. The film also stars
Amira Casar Amira Casar is a French-British film actress. She was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress for the 1997 film ''La Vérité si je mens !, La Vérité si je mens!'' and also for the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival for ...
, Esther Garrel, and Victoire Du Bois. Development began in 2007 when producers Peter Spears and Howard Rosenman optioned the rights to Aciman's novel. Ivory was chosen to co-direct with Guadagnino, but stepped down in 2016. Guadagnino joined the project as a location scout and eventually became sole director and co-producer. ''Call Me by Your Name'' was financed by several international companies, and its
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
took place mainly in the city and of
Crema, Lombardy Crema (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the river Serio River, Serio at from Cremona. It is also the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Crema, who gave the tit ...
, in May and June 2016. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom used 35 mm film, as opposed to employing
digital cinematography Digital cinematography is the process of capturing (recording) a film, motion picture using digital image sensors rather than through film stock. As digital technology has improved in recent years, this practice has become dominant. Since the 200 ...
. The filmmakers spent weeks decorating Villa Albergoni, one of the main shooting locations. Guadagnino curated the film's soundtrack, which features three original songs by American singer-songwriter
Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...
.
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...
acquired worldwide distribution rights to ''Call Me by Your Name'' before its premiere at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – '' I Don't Feel ...
on January 22, 2017. The film began a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
in the United States on November 24, 2017, and went on general release on January 19, 2018. It received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for Ivory's screenplay, Guadagnino's direction, Mukdeeprom's cinematography, and the performances of Chalamet, Hammer, and Stuhlbarg. The film garnered a number of accolades, including many for its screenplay, direction, acting, and music. It received four nominations at the
90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...
, including Best Picture and Best Actor for 22-year-old Chalamet (the third-youngest nominee in the category), and won Best Adapted Screenplay, making Ivory the oldest winner of a competitive Academy Award in any category. The screenplay also won at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards, 71st British Academy Film Awards, and the 70th Writers Guild of America Awards. ''Call Me by Your Name'' is now considered one of the best films of the 21st century.


Plot

In the summer of 1983, Elio Perlman, a 17-year-old Jewish French-Italian boy, lives with his parents in rural Northern Italy. Elio's father, a professor of archaeology, invites a 24-year-old Jewish-American graduate student, Oliver, to live with the family over the summer and help with his academic paperwork. Elio, an introspective bookworm and musician, initially thinks he has little in common with Oliver, who appears confident and carefree. Elio spends much of the summer reading, playing piano, and hanging out with his childhood friends, Chiara and Marzia. During a volleyball match, Oliver touches Elio's back, but Elio brushes it off. Elio later finds himself jealous upon seeing Oliver kiss Chiara. Elio and Oliver spend more time together, taking long walks into town, and accompanying Elio's father on an archaeological trip. Elio is increasingly drawn to Oliver, even sneaking into Oliver's room to smell his clothing. Elio eventually confesses his feelings to Oliver, who tells him they cannot discuss such things. Later, in a secluded spot, the two kiss for the first time. Oliver is reluctant to take things further, and they do not speak for several days. Elio goes on a date with Marzia and the two have sex. Elio leaves a note for Oliver to end their silence. Oliver writes back, asking Elio to meet him at midnight. Elio agrees and they sleep together for the first time. Afterward, Oliver tells Elio, "Call me by your name and I'll call you by mine". The morning after, Elio is briefly conflicted about their encounter and takes out his sexual frustration by masturbating with a peach. When Oliver finds him, Elio cries about how little time he and Oliver have left together. Marzia confronts Elio after not hearing from him for three days. He responds indifferently, hurting her. As the end of Oliver's stay approaches, Elio's parents, who appear aware of the bond between the two, recommend that he and Oliver visit
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
together before Oliver returns to the U.S. They spend three romantic days together. Heartbroken after Oliver's departure, Elio calls his mother to ask her to pick him up from the train station and take him home. Marzia is sympathetic to Elio's feelings and says she wants to remain friends. Elio's father, observing his unhappiness, tells him that the bond he had with Oliver was rare and that he envies Elio because he never had what Elio and Oliver had. During
Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...
, Oliver calls Elio's family to tell them he is engaged to be married to a woman he has been intermittently dating for a few years. Elio calls Oliver by his name and Oliver responds with his; Oliver says he remembers "everything". After the call, Elio sits by the fireplace and stares into the flames, tearfully reflecting, as his parents and staff prepare dinner.


Cast


Styles and themes

''Call Me by Your Name'' is the final installment in a thematic trilogy Guadagnino calls his "Desire" trilogy; the other two parts were '' I Am Love'' (2009) and '' A Bigger Splash'' (2015). Guadagnino described his approach to the film as "lighthearted and simple", a departure from his previous work, which has been called "highly stylised nddazzling". Guadagnino considers ''Call Me by Your Name'' a "homage to the fathers of my life: my own father, and my cinematic ones", referring to the filmmakers
Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...
,
Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'Amour fo ...
,
Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the Post-war, p ...
, and
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci ( ; ; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved inte ...
, who he says inspired him. Guadagnino has described ''Call Me by Your Name'' as a family-oriented film for the purpose of "transmission of knowledge and hope that people of different generations come to see the film together". He sees it not as a "gay" movie but as one about "the beauty of the newborn idea of desire, unbiased and uncynical", reflecting his motto of living "with a sense of ''
joie de vivre ( , ; " joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit, and general happiness. It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ' ...
''". "We should always be very earnest with one's feelings, instead of hiding them or shielding ourselves", he said. He considers it an "uplifting film" about "being who you want to be and finding yourself into the gaze of the other in his or her otherness." Guadagnino tried to avoid the flaws he had seen in most
coming-of-age film In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or interna ...
s, where growth is often portrayed as a result of resolving preconceived dilemmas such as an enforced choice between two lovers. He also wanted the story to follow two people "in the moment", rather than focus on an antagonist or a tragedy—an approach inspired by
Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",
's '' À nos amours'' (1983). As someone who considers
sex in film Sexual content has been found in Film, films since the early days of the Film industry, industry, and the presentation of aspects of human sexuality, sexuality in film, especially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the ...
a representation of the characters' behavior and identity, Guadagnino was uninterested in including explicit sex scenes in the film. He explained his intention: "I wanted the audience to completely rely on the emotional travel of these people and feel first love... It was important to me to create this powerful universality, because the whole idea of the movie is that the other person makes you beautiful—enlightens you, elevates you." Alongside a sexual coming-of-age motif, the movie also touches on the novel's theme of Elio discovering and connecting to his Jewish identity through the openly Jewish Oliver and in contrast to his own family, who are, as his mother puts it, "Jews of discretion". Their common Jewish identity is a part of what draws Elio and Oliver together and is represented by the Star of David necklace Oliver initially wears, which Elio is drawn to. The theme of sexual self-discovery is paralleled by the Jewish theme: in both cases, Elio starts out secretive about these parts of himself and develops greater self-acceptance, both journeys connected to Oliver's role in his life. There is a hint that Oliver may have given Elio his Star of David necklace shortly before they part ways in the train station. Elio's necklace can be clearly seen during the conversation from which the movie (and the novel) takes its title.


Production


Development

Two of the film's producers, Peter Spears and Howard Rosenman, saw a
galley proof In printing and publishing, proofs are the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and proofreaders, often with extra-wide margins. Galley proofs may be uncut and unbound, or in some cases electronically tra ...
of André Aciman's debut novel '' Call Me by Your Name'' in 2007 and " optioned" the screen rights before its publication. Rosenman first heard about the book through a friend after acting in ''
Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
'' (2008) and called it "divine". Spears, moved by the novel and believing it deserved a cinematic adaptation, received his first credit as a producer from his work on the film. They invited their friend James Ivory to work as an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
on the film adaptation. Spears and Rosenman began production in 2008, but the project was soon trapped in "
development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...
". The producers met with three sets of directors and writers—among them
Gabriele Muccino Gabriele Muccino (; born 20 May 1967) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has worked his way from making short films only aired on Italian television to become a well-known and successful American filmmaker. He is the elder brother o ...
,
Ferzan Özpetek Ferzan Özpetek (, ; born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy since 1978. Biography Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History ...
, and
Sam Taylor-Johnson Samantha Louise Taylor-Johnson ( Taylor-Wood; born 1967) is a British filmmaker. Her directorial feature film debut was 2009's ''Nowhere Boy'', a film based on the childhood experiences of the Beatles' singer and songwriter John Lennon. She is ...
—but could not find anyone who would commit to the project. Scheduling filming in Italy during the summer also proved difficult. The producers contacted Guadagnino, their first choice to direct, but he declined, citing a busy schedule. But as Guadagnino lived in northern Italy, he was initially hired as a location consultant instead. He later suggested that he co-direct the film with Ivory, but no contractual agreement was put in place. Ivory accepted the offer to co-direct on the condition that he would also write the film; he spent "about nine months" on the screenplay. Guadagnino, who has called the novel "a Proustian book about remembering the past and indulging in the melancholy of lost things", collaborated on the adaptation with Ivory and Walter Fasano. Screenwriting took place at Ivory's house, Guadagnino's kitchen table in Crema, and New York City. Ivory rarely met Guadagnino during the process, since the director was busy making ''A Bigger Splash'' (2015). The screenplay was completed in late 2015. Aciman approved it and commended the adaptation as "direct ... real and persuasive", adding, "they've done better than the book". The completed screenplay was vital in securing funding for the film. Among the financiers were the production companies La Cinéfacture (France), Frenesy Film Company (Italy, owned by Guadagnino), M.Y.R.A. Entertainment (United States), RT Features (Brazil), and Water's End Productions (United States). The project was also supported by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. The backers deemed the production's initial budget estimates "too expensive", so the budget was reduced from $12 million to $3.4 million and the filming schedule was cut from 12 to 5 weeks. Ivory stepped down from a directorial role in 2016, leaving Guadagnino to direct the film alone. According to Ivory, Memento Films International did not want two directors involved with the project because they "thought it would be awkward ... It might take longer, it would look terrible if we got in fights on the set, and so on." Guadagnino said Ivory's version would likely have been "a much more costly nddifferent film" that would have been too expensive to make. Ivory became the sole credited screenwriter and later sold the rights to the screenplay to Guadagnino's company. ''Call Me by Your Name'' was Ivory's first produced screenplay since '' Le Divorce'' (2003) and the only narrative feature he has written but not directed. He remained involved with other aspects of the production. Guadagnino dedicated the film to his late friend
Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Prime ...
, who came to visit the set in Crema before his death in February 2017.


Adaptation

The film differs from its source material in several ways. The novel is written in flashback, from Elio's perspective. The filmmakers set the movie entirely in 1983 to help the audience understand the characters, believing this approach would allow them to remain true to the book's spirit. The setting was changed from
Bordighera Bordighera (; , locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, the French coast is visible from the town. Having the Capo Sant'Ampel ...
to the countryside of Crema, where Guadagnino lives. The town square selected for filming differed from the one in the novel, which in Aciman's vision was "far smaller and stood high on a hill overlooking a windswept Mediterranean". Crema's arid climate and "spookily deserted" landscape suggested to him that the film would not correspond to the novel. Guadagnino also changed the year of the events from 1987 to 1983. In his words, Guadagnino chose "the year—in Italy at least—where the '70s are killed, when everything that was great about the '70s is definitely shut down", but also a time when the characters could be "in a way untouched by the corruption of the '80s—in the U.S., Reagan, and in the UK, Thatcher". Guadagnino was tempted to remove the scene in which Elio masturbates into a pitted peach, finding it too explicit. Chalamet was also nervous about the scene, calling it "a metamorphosis of some of the strongest ideas in the movie" and the key to illuminating the character's "overabundant sexual energy". Both Guadagnino and Chalamet believed it was implausible to masturbate with a peach, but each independently tested the method. To their surprise, it worked, so Guadagnino shot the scene and included it in the film. A scene featuring Elio and Oliver dancing enthusiastically to
The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
song " Love My Way" in a small bar is not from the book. It was inspired by
Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...
's '' Something Wild'' (1986) and Guadagnino's experience of dancing by himself when he was young. Ivory altered Mr. Perlman's profession from a classics scholar to "an art historian/archeologist type", a decision Aciman called "perfect" and "more visual, ..more exciting, as opposed to what a scholar does at his desk". When he revised Ivory's draft of the script, Guadagnino removed the voiceover narration and much of the nudity. He said that explicit nudity was "absolutely irrelevant" to his vision for the film, and that he did not like the idea of having the main character tell the story retrospectively, saying, "it kills the surprise". Toward the end of the novel, Elio and Oliver visit Rome, a trip that lasts an entire chapter and introduces new characters in multiple locations. Because of the film's limited budget, Ivory and the producers wrote several variations, one of which was to leave the lead characters alone in the family's house, before settling on another trip, to
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
, where the characters spend much of their time alone together in a hotel room. In Ivory's draft, Elio's parents discuss
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
in two scenes and Elio decorates a Christmas tree in his family's home in the last scene. Ivory had to reduce the length of Mr. Perlman's speech but was committed to keeping it in the script. Aciman said in an interview that he suggested that Ivory keep dialogue before Perlman's speech to a minimum so as not to "steal the surprise and the suspense that happens" as it unfolds. Ivory described the scene in which Elio conveys his feelings to Oliver as one of the moments that captures their first love's "euphoric passion and nervousness". Aciman was surprised by Guadagnino's final scene, in which Elio weeps by the fireplace; he wrote of the film adaptation: Many of the changes to Ivory's screenplay were made during filming; Ivory was not present on set. In May 2016, Ivory said that he and Guadagnino discussed how to film the scenes involving nudity, but Guadagnino later dropped them. In Ivory's view, some of Guadagnino's statements to the press misrepresented the film's omission of nudity as a "conscious aesthetic decision", as they had never discussed removing nudity from the screenplay. Ivory said, "When people are wandering around before or after making love, and they're decorously covered with sheets, it’s always seemed phony to me." By contrast, Ivory cited scenes from his film '' Maurice'' (1987)—a gay romantic drama that includes male nudity—as "a more natural way of doing things than to hide them, or to do what Luca did, which is to pan the camera out of the window toward some trees." Guadagnino said he understood Ivory's position, but that it was clear that there were "no limitations on what we wanted to do."


Casting

In 2015, Shia LaBeouf and
Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi ( , ; born 18 February 1960) is an actress. Born in Italy to a British-Italian couple, she was raised in Britain and finally settled in Australia, becoming a naturalized citizen. Scacchi had her first leading role in the romanti ...
were reportedly set to be cast in the film. In September 2016, Ivory confirmed they were no longer involved in the project. Ivory said he got along with LaBeouf, who had read for the film in New York City, but the production company later felt he was unsuitable after his "various troubles". Ivory thought Scacchi and LaBeouf read well together and could have made it into the film, but the company disagreed. Guadagnino was impressed by Armie Hammer's performance in ''
The Social Network ''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book '' The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networkin ...
'' (2010), calling him a "sophisticated actor, with a great range". Hammer almost turned down the role of Oliver after reading the draft script because it contained nudity, saying: "There's a lot of stuff here that I've never done on film before. But there's no way I can't do this, mostly because it scares me so much." Hammer had played gay characters in ''
J. Edgar ''J. Edgar'' is a 2011 American Biographical film, biographical drama film based on the career of Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the ...
'' (2011) and '' Final Portrait'' (2017). In 2013, Swardstrom—Spears's husband and agent—introduced Chalamet to Guadagnino, who immediately felt the actor had "the ambition, the intelligence, the sensitivity, the naivety, and the artistry" to play Elio. Chalamet had already read Aciman's novel and described it as "a window into a young person". Elio is fluent in three languages: English, French and Italian. Upon his arrival in Italy, Chalamet—who spoke French fluently and had played piano and guitar for years—prepared for his role with a schedule of daily Italian lessons, gym workouts three times a week, and work with composer Roberto Solci. Michael Stuhlbarg, who was cast as Elio's father, did not read the book until he had already joined the production. He found the script moving and said Mr. Perlman had a "sense of generosity and love and understanding". Guadagnino contacted Esther Garrel when he was in Paris to promote ''A Bigger Splash''. Garrel was cast as Marzia without a formal audition, and chose not to read the book before shooting. Toward the end of the film, Marzia asks Elio, "Friend for life?"—a line taken from '' J'entends plus la guitare'' (1991), directed by Garrel's father, Philippe Garrel. "I like the idea of talking virtually with Philippe Garrel through her", Guadagnino said. During shooting, Garrel spoke French with Chalamet on set and watched the American sitcom ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
'' with English subtitles to improve her English. Guadagnino chose
Amira Casar Amira Casar is a French-British film actress. She was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress for the 1997 film ''La Vérité si je mens !, La Vérité si je mens!'' and also for the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival for ...
, whom he had known for 20 years, for the role of Elio's mother, Annella. In an interview, he expressed his admiration of Casar's "sense of transgression" and called her "the most audacious" actress in European art cinema. Casting director Stella Savino met Vanda Capriolo when she was bicycling in the countryside. Capriolo, who was not an actor, was chosen to play Mafalda, the Perlmans' maid. Aciman and Spears also appear briefly in cameo roles as Mounir and Isaac, an openly gay couple who attend a dinner party. Aciman was asked to be in the movie after actors became unavailable. "It was a last-minute decision", Spears recalled. "André turns out to be a phenomenal actor! So comfortable, not nervous at all. His wife was sitting there and said, 'I had no idea!'" In dialogue, the characters switch between English, French, Italian, and in one scene Annella reads a German translation of 16th-century French literature. Hammer and Chalamet both signed contracts prohibiting the film from showing them with full-frontal nudity. The decision dismayed Ivory, whose original screenplay contained nudity. He criticized what he saw as an "American" attitude, saying: "Nobody seems to care that much or be shocked about a totally naked woman. It's the men." Guadagnino picked actors based on their performances and chemistry rather than on their sexuality. He said, "The idea that you have to cast only someone who has a certain set of skills, and worse, a certain gender identity in any role: that's oppressive to me."


Production design and costume

The main location set for the Perlmans' residence was Villa Albergoni, an uninhabited 17th-century mansion in Moscazzano. Guadagnino wanted to buy the house but could not afford it, and so made a film there instead. A landscape designer was hired to construct an orchard in the mansion's garden. A pergola was built on the patio, and apricot and peach trees were placed in the garden. Guadagnino did not want the film to be a period piece and tried to resist making a film that would reflect "our idea of the 80s". His goal was an accurate recreation of the period that was invisible to the viewer. The crew, including production designer Samuel Deshors and set decorators Sandro Piccarozzi and Violante Visconti di Modrone, styled the house with furniture and objects inspired by the characters. Much of the furniture, including dishes and glassware from the 1950s, belonged to Guadagnino and Visconti di Modrone's parents. Di Modrone, a grandniece of
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...
, said, "That made it cozy and personal ... I wanted to give it the sense of time passing by". Many paintings, maps, and mirrors influenced by Asian art came from an antiques shop in Milan. The books seen in the background were all published before 1982. The swimming pool used in the film was based on a watering trough common in the area. The filmmakers set up faded political billboards in public places to reflect the Italian general election in 1983 and re-created a newsstand full of magazines of that time. Residents of Crema helped the production team with their research, inviting them into their homes and providing pictures from the 1980s. Chen Li, the film's graphic designer, created a handwritten typeface for the film's
title sequence A title screen (also called an opening screen or intro) is the method by which films or television show, television programmes present their title and key filmmaking, production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often an op ...
of photocopied images of statues alongside items on Mr. Perlman's desk. Costume designer Giulia Piersanti avoided using period costumes; instead, she wanted to provide "a sense of insouciant adolescent sensuality, summer heat and sexual awakening". The costumes, influenced by '' Pauline at the Beach'' (1983), '' A Tale of Springtime'' (1990), and ''
A Summer's Tale ''A Summer's Tale'' () is a 1996 French Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in his ''Contes des quatre saisons'' (''Tales of the Four Seasons'') series, which also includes ''A Tale o ...
'' (1996), included some pieces made by Piersanti's team. For the Perlmans' wardrobe, Piersanti took inspiration from her parents' photograph albums. For Oliver's "sexy, healthy American" image, Piersanti referred to "some of Bruce Weber's earliest photographs". Oliver's clothes change throughout the film as "he's more able to free himself". Aiming to emphasize Elio's confident style, she chose several Lacoste costumes and a distinctive,
New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...
-looking shirt in the final scene. For Elio's other costumes, Piersanti picked some items from her husband's closet, including the polo shirt and Fido Dido T-shirt.


Principal photography

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on May 9, 2016, and wrapped in June, lasting around 33 days. The film was shot primarily in Crema and the surrounding
province of Cremona The province of Cremona (; Cremunés dialect, Cremunés: ; ; Emilian dialects, Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital city is Cremona. The province occupies the central section of Pa ...
. An unusual series of rainstorms coincided with the shooting schedule, with heavy rain on 28 of the shooting days. Scenes set in the nearby villages Pandino and Moscazzano were filmed between May 17 and 19, and shooting in Crema began on June 1. Additional outdoor scenes were shot on December 4, 2016. The City of Crema invested
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
18,000 in the film, including a publicity campaign costing €7,500. The arch of Torrazzo at Crema Cathedral and several historical locations in the streets of Crema and Pandino were chosen during production. Businesses requested compensation for financial losses caused by the closure, which was scheduled for May 30 and 31. Two days' filming at the cathedral were postponed due to the rainy weather. Filming also took place in the Lodigiano area near Crespiatica and in two small towns near Crema, Montodine and Ripalta. The archaeological discovery scene was filmed at the Grottoes of Catullus in Sirmione on the
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
n shores of
Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...
. The trip to Bergamo was filmed at the exterior of multiple historical buildings, including Bergamo Cathedral, the
Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...
, the courtyard of
Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi is a prominent Public Education, public Secondary school, high school in Bergamo, Lombardy, northern Italy, (ranked 2nd Italy, nationally by Eduscopio in 2016 and 2017) because of the methodology combining Ancient Gree ...
in Piazza Rosate and the . The train station scenes were filmed at Pizzighettone. Because of security concerns, the production team was granted permission to film at the Cascate del Serio in Valbondione for only half an hour. Before and during filming, the actors lived in Crema and were able to experience small-town life. Guadagnino engaged with the cast and filmmakers and often cooked for them and showed films at his house. Hammer and Chalamet, who did not have to do a screen test together, met for the first time during production in Crema. Before filming began, they spent a month together, watching TV and going to local restaurants. "We'd hang out with each other all the time, because we were pretty much the only Americans there, and we were able to defend one another and really get to know one another", Chalamet said. During the first two days of production, Guadagnino read the script with the cast. The first scene that Hammer and Chalamet rehearsed was the kissing scene, and they spent several days filming nude. "I've never been so intimately involved with a director before. Luca was able to look at me and completely undress me," Hammer said. Moscazzano1.jpg, The Villa Albergoni CremaTorrazzo.JPG, The arch of Torrazzo at the Crema Cathedral Grotte di Catullo - Sirmione.jpg, The Grottoes of Catullus, on the
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
n shore of
Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...
Pandino mon Caduti.JPG, The Piazza Vittorio Emanuele in Pandino Cascatedelserio.JPG, Cascate del Serio Giovanni da campione, protiro est disanta maria maggiore a bergamo, 1360, 01.JPG, The South portal of Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo Pizzighettone - stazione ferroviaria - lato binari.jpg, The Station of Pizzighettone
Guadagnino shot the film in chronological order, which allowed the filmmakers to "witness the onscreen maturity of both protagonist and actor", according to Fasano. The scene in which Mr. Perlman delivers an emotional speech to Elio was filmed on the penultimate day of filming. Stuhlbarg spent months preparing for the scene, which Guadagnino wanted to make "as simple as possible" by shooting fewer takes and "let
ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
the actors be." Three takes were shot and Stuhlbarg was "on three different levels of getting emotional". Garrel enjoyed filming her sex scene with Chalamet, which she said was filled with "joy and simplicity". Chalamet was listening to "Visions of Gideon", one of Sufjan Stevens's original songs for the film, in an earpiece while filming the final sequence; the director asked him to perform three variations of the scene, one per take. The camera was set in the fireplace with nobody behind it. "It was bit of an acting experiment", Chalamet said. During this scene, the title of the film is shown for the first time, rather than in the opening sequence. At the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, a memorial to the victims of the battle of the Piave in Pandino, the filmmakers laid a long camera dolly track to film the scene where Elio tells Oliver of his feelings for him in a single
long take In filmmaking, a long take (also called a continuous take, continuous shot, or oner) is Shot (filmmaking), shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera mov ...
. This provided the flexibility and "flow of emotion" a cut scene could not. During the dancing sequence, Hammer had to perform to a
click track A click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a Film, moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where optical marks were made on the film to indicate precise ...
in front of 50 off-camera extras with the music turned down so the dialogue could be recorded. In preparation for the scene, Guadagnino arranged for Hammer to practice with a dance coach. Hammer said it was "the worst scene" he had ever filmed. Choreographer Paolo Rocchi, who was contacted by the Frenesy Film Company in June 2016, called the routine "awkward and realistic". Rosenman considered the scene one of the most emotional moments; he said, "It embodied and encapsulated, for me, what teenage love is all about, what desire is all about." Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, who had collaborated with Guadagnino on Ferdinando Cito Filomarino's ''Antonia'' (2015), served as the
director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
. He had read Aciman's novel before receiving the script and walked around filming locations to "get a feeling for everything ... to see the color, to see how the light changed during the day, and input it into my data". Mukdeeprom had to use artificial lighting to capture the Northern Italian summer atmosphere, compensating for the heavy rain throughout the shoot. While filming the confrontation scene between Oliver and Elio, Mukdeeprom wept in a corner of the room after they finished the first take, overwhelmed by a feeling of profound empathy for the actors. The film was shot using 35 mm celluloid film and a single lens, a decision influenced by the work of
David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...
to "solidif the point of view" and make "the tension of the performance come off the screen"—even if it meant increasing the production budget above the cost of shooting in digital. Guadagnino praised Jean-Pierre Laforce, the film's
sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating auditory elements of media. It involves specifying, acquiring and creating audio using production techniques and equipment or software. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking ...
er and mixer, for his "wonderful" and "pivotal" contributions. Guadagnino had previously worked with Laforce on ''A Bigger Splash'' and said he was "able to create a sort of Cathedral of sound without overwhelming the movie."


Post-production

Fasano collaborated with Guadagnino during post-production. They had worked together since Guadagnino's debut feature, '' The Protagonists'' (1999). Fasano called working with Guadagnino "atypical ndvery demanding, but it's a great experience." Post-production took only a month, between June and July—the fastest they had ever edited. Fasano cited Bernardo Bertolucci's films and the "fast and unexplained" storytelling in Pialat's ''À nos amours'' as inspiration. The film's first cut was three hours and 20 minutes. Fasano called it his favorite, saying it made him "lose imelf in the story and the images". The final cut lasts two hours and 10 minutes with a
shooting ratio The shooting ratio or Bertolo code in filmmaking and television production is the ratio between the total duration of its footage created for possible use in a project and that which appears in its final cut. A film with a shooting ratio of 2:1 wo ...
of 25:1. Several notable changes were made, or almost made, near the end of post-production. The monologue sequence with Elio's father once had piano music beneath it. The scene in which Elio and Oliver bike to a courtyard almost failed to make the final cut after one of the producers said it was inconsequential. Hammer said that some scenes were digitally altered to fix
wardrobe malfunction A wardrobe malfunction is a clothing failure that accidentally exposes a person's intimate parts. It is different from deliberate incidents of indecent exposure or exhibitionism, public flashing. Justin Timberlake first used the term when apologiz ...
s caused by his short shorts. Guadagnino has discussed several scenes that did not make the final cut. There was a "well-acted" scene where Elio and Oliver were "teasing one another" under a lime tree that Guadagnino felt was "too precious". A scene where Elio's parents make love in the bedroom while Elio and Oliver are kissing under the moonlight in the garden was also cut. The latter scene was shown at a June 2018 screening in Castiglioncello, which also included a deleted scene of Elio inviting Oliver to tour the village.


Music

Guadagnino chose the music for ''Call Me by Your Name'' himself. He wanted to find an "emotional narrator to the film" through music, in a "less heavy, less present, and more enveloping" way than voice and text. ''
Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 epic historical drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel '' The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Narrated by Michael Hordern, and starring Ryan O'N ...
'' (1975), ''
The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after '' The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fict ...
'' (1942), and '' The Age of Innocence'' (1993) inspired him. Guadagnino wanted the film's music to be connected to Elio, a young pianist who enjoys transcribing and adapting piano pieces and uses music to deepen his relationship with Oliver. Music is used in the film to reflect the period setting, the characters' family life and their level of education, and "the kind of canon they would be a part of". Guadagnino also researched which pop songs played frequently on local radio stations that summer. Impressed by the lyricism of American songwriter
Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...
, Guadagnino asked him to record an original song for ''Call Me by Your Name'' and to narrate the film from the perspective of Elio at an older age. Stevens declined the voiceover role but contributed three songs to the soundtrack: " Mystery of Love", " Visions of Gideon", and a remix by Doveman of his song " Futile Devices" from '' The Age of Adz'' (2010). He was inspired by the film's script, the novel, and conversations with Guadagnino about the characters. He submitted the songs a few days before filming began. Surprised by the result, Guadagnino listened to them on set with the actors and editor Walter Fasano. Because it had been recorded, Chalamet was able to listen to "Visions of Gideon" on an earpiece while filming the movie's four-minute final shot, a static closeup of his face. He said, "Sufjan's song was playing in my ear so I could mirror the structure." The project marked the first time Stevens had written songs explicitly for a feature-film soundtrack. Alongside Stevens's songs, several classical pieces and 1980s pop songs are on the soundtrack. Madison Gate Records and Sony Classical released a soundtrack album in digital formats on November 3, 2017, and in physical formats on November 17. It features songs by Stevens,
The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
, Franco Battiato, Loredana Bertè, Bandolero,
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...
, Joe Esposito, and F. R. David, as well as music by
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
,
Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
,
Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...
,
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
, and
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
. the soundtrack had sold 9,000 copies and had 29 million on-demand audio streams of its tracks in the U.S., according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
.


Release

''Call Me by Your Name'' had its world premiere on January 22, 2017, at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
. International sales were handled by Memento Films International, a French company, which screened a promo reel at the American Film Market in November 2016. Shortly before the film's Sundance premiere,
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...
acquired worldwide distribution rights for $6 million. The deal was negotiated by WME Global and UTA Independent Film Group. The film was screened at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
on February 13, 2017; the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
on September 7, 2017; and the
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...
on October 3, 2017. At the Beijing International Film Festival, it was originally scheduled for April 2018, but was removed from the official program with no explanation; Patrick Brzeski of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote that the decision reflected the government's "consistent stance of intolerance toward gay content". That year, the film was honored at the Crema Film Festival: Aciman met the public on June 23, and Garrel joined the screening at the Crema Cathedral on June 30. ''Call Me by Your Name'' opened in
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2017, and the United States on November 24, 2017. It expanded from four to thirty locations in the U.S. on December 15, 2017, then to 114 theaters on December 22. It screened in 174 theaters in January 2018, before going into
wide release In the motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across a country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical release in ...
in 815 theaters a few days before the Oscar nomination announcement ceremony on January 19, 2018. On Oscars weekend, the film screened in 914 theaters, its widest release in the U.S. Warner Bros. Pictures released the film theatrically in Italy on January 25, 2018, though home media distribution in Italy is handled through
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
as well. Special screenings and a public meet-and-greet with Guadagnino, Hammer and Chalamet took place in Crema between January 27 and 30. The film opened in Brazil on January 18 and in France on February 28. In March 2018, a distributor in Tunisia reported that the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
had banned the film as an "attack on liberties" because of its subject matter. In Ireland, it became the longest-running film shown at the Light House Cinema in early June 2018, after a 30-week run. In the Philippines, the film was screened accompanied by a live performance of its soundtrack by the Manila Symphony Orchestra on October 28.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...
theatrically released the film in Taiwan on January 12, 2018, under the
Buena Vista International Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...
label.


Marketing

Sony Pictures Classics released an official poster for ''Call Me by Your Name'' on July 27, 2017. The first theatrical trailer was released on August 1, 2017. On October 11, 2017, Sony Pictures Classics released a teaser titled "Dance Party" to celebrate National Coming Out Day. The 42-second clip, consisting of a single take of Hammer and Chalamet dancing to "Love My Way" in a bar, became a meme on Twitter. Because of its use in the clip, "Love My Way" gained popularity on music-streaming websites. It rose 13% on on-demand streams during the two months before the film's release. In the week ending November 30, 2017, the song collected 177,000 on-demand streams, its biggest streaming week in the U.S. Reaction to the advertisement on social media was somewhat negative, largely because of Sony Pictures' misleading use of an image of Chalamet and Garrel instead of a focus on the protagonists' relationship. Daniel Megarry of ''
Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...
'' described it as "an attempt to ' straight-wash' the movie's predominant same-sex romance". Benjamin Lee of ''The Guardian'' called the ad a "disastrous attempt to push Oscar-buzzed ''Call Me by Your Name'' as a straight love story", and said the advert "belies an industry awkwardly denying
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
ness". Sony Pictures Classics later aired several commercial spots to promote the film during its U.S.-wide expansion on January 19, 2018. To promote the film in South Korea, Sony Pictures released several never-before-seen set photos and pastel promotional posters illustrated by Son Eunkyoung in March 2018.


Home media

A pirated copy of an awards-screener DVD of ''Call Me by Your Name'', along with copies of '' Last Flag Flying'' and fellow Oscar nominees '' I, Tonya'' and '' Lady Bird'', were leaked onto file-sharing websites by the hacker group Hive-CM8 on December 24, 2017. The film was officially released for digital download on February 27, 2018. It was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and DVD on March 13, 2018, with two bonus featurettes ("In Conversation with Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg & Luca Guadagnino" and "Snapshots of Italy: The Making of ''Call Me by Your Name''"), an audio commentary track by Chalamet and Stuhlbarg, and the music video for "Mystery of Love". The film made $2,100,758 in DVD sales and $1,856,909 in Blu-ray sales in the United States, for a total of $3,957,667 in home media sales. In the United Kingdom, the DVD charted at number seven and the Blu-ray at number four on Top 100 sales for both formats.


Reception


Box office

''Call Me by Your Name'' grossed $18.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $23.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $41.9 million against a production budget of $3.4 million. The film was Sony Pictures Classics' third-highest-grossing release of 2017. In the United States, ''Call Me by Your Name'' began its limited run on November 24, 2017, at The Paris Theater and Union Square Theatre in New York City, and the ArcLight Hollywood and Landmark Theater in Los Angeles. The film made $404,874 in its opening weekend—a per-theater average of $101,219. It was the highest average of 2017—the biggest since the opening of ''
La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...
'' the previous December—and had the best per-screen opening for a gay romance film since ''
Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...
'' (2005). In its second weekend, the film grossed $281,288, with an "excellent" per-screen average of $70,320. The film expanded to nine theaters in its third weekend, grossing $291,101 for a "solid" $32,345 per-theater average. It earned $491,933 from 30 theaters in its fourth weekend, averaging $16,398. The film expanded to 114 theaters in its fifth week and grossed $850,736, averaging $7,463 per screen. It crossed $6 million in its seventh weekend, earning $758,726 from 115 locations. It grossed $715,559 from 174 theaters in its eighth weekend, averaging $4,185 per screen. In the film's nationwide release week—its ninth weekend overall—the film grossed $1.4 million from 815 theaters, an under-performance compared to "some of its competition with similar theater counts," according to ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
''. The following weekend, after the announcement of its four Oscar nominations, the film's revenues dropped 6 percent to $1.3 million. With a total gross revenue of $9,370,359 by the week of January 23, 2018, ''Call Me by Your Name'' was the second-lowest-grossing film among that year's Best Picture nominees. However, the online ticketing company
Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple metre, triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is u ...
reported that the film had experienced a 56 percent increase in ticket sales through its service since its Best Picture nomination was announced. Regarding the film's "lagging" box-office performance, Tom Brueggemann of IndieWire commented that Sony Picture Classic "has done an able job so far", and said "at some point the film and the reaction to it is something no distributor can overcome". It grossed $919,926, averaging $1,006, from 914 theaters during the Oscar weekend, and went on to earn $304,228 from 309 theaters in its sixteenth weekend. ''Call Me by Your Name'' opened at number seven in Italy with €781,000 and obtained the best per-theater average of the week. It made €49,170 on February 6 and reached €2 million by the end of the week. It re-entered at number 10 on March 13 by making another €13,731 at the box office. the film had grossed $3,925,137 in Italy. It attracted 17,152 viewers in France on its first day of screening, with an "excellent" per-theater average of 184 entries. It went on to attract 108,500 viewers in the opening weekend, earning 1,167 viewings—the second-best average that week—and 238,124 viewers in its third weekend. the film had grossed $2,652,781 in France. In the United Kingdom, the film earned £231,995 ($306,000) from 112 screens in its opening weekend, including £4,000 from previews. After ten days, it had made £568,000 ($745,000), before reaching the $1 million mark (£767,000) in its third weekend. the film had grossed $2,372,382 in the United Kingdom.


Critical response

At its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, ''Call Me by Your Name'' received a standing ovation. When it screened at
Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...
as part of the New York Film Festival, it received a ten-minute ovation, the longest in the festival's history. On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 363 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Call Me by Your Name'' offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer." It was the best-reviewed limited release and the second-best-reviewed romance film of 2017 on the site. On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has an average weighted score of 94 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It was the year's fifth-best rated film on Metacritic. Writing for ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Boyd van Hoeij described ''Call Me by Your Name'' as an "extremely sensual ... intimate and piercingly honest" adaptation of Aciman's novel and called Chalamet's performance "the true breakout of the film". Peter Debruge of '' Variety'' wrote that the film "advances the canon of gay cinema" by portraying "a story of first love ... that transcends the same-sex dynamic of its central couple". He compared Guadagnino's "sensual" direction to
Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...
and
François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...
, and put ''Call Me by Your Name'' "on par with the best of their work". David Ehrlich of IndieWire also praised Guadagnino's directing, which he said helped the film "match the artistry and empathy" of '' Carol'' (2015) and ''
Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...
'' (2016). Sam Adams of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
wrote that Stuhlbarg's performance "puts a frame around the movie's painting and opens up avenues we may not have thought to explore", and called it "one of his finest" to date. He extolled the film as one of "many movies that have so successfully appealed to both the intellectual and the erotic since the heydays of
Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; ; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ''I ...
and
André Téchiné André Téchiné (; born 13 March 1943) is a French screenwriter and film director. He has a long and distinguished career that places him among the most accomplished post-French New Wave, New Wave French film directors. Téchiné belongs to a s ...
". Ty Burr of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' gave the film three and a half stars, commended Guadagnino for "broaden nghis embrace of humanity while hitting new heights of cinematic bliss", and wrote that the film "may be a fantasy but it's one that's lovely and wise." David Morgan of CBS praised the cinematography, production design, and costuming for "making a summer in the 1980s palpably alive again." He found Stuhlbarg's character "the most forward-thinking parent in movie history". Richard Lawson wrote that Guadagnino's adaptation "was made with real love, with good intentions, with a clarity of heart and purposeful, unpretentious intellect" and hailed it as a "modern gay classic" in his '' Vanity Fair'' review. ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''s Michael Phillips was pleased by Guadagnino's "wonderfully paradoxical" visual interests and wrote that Stevens's songs "work like magic on your sympathies regarding Elio's emotional awakening." He praised Hammer's performance as "some of the most easy-breathing and relaxed best work of his career." ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' noted the tension "between pain and pleasure" in the film and praised Chalamet, saying that he "evokes so many shades of humanity, portraying a path of youthful self-discovery that is more raw, unhinged, and ultimately honest than many actors could manage".
Kate Taylor Kate Taylor (born August 15, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the younger (and only) sister of singer-songwriter James Taylor. Biography Taylor was born in Boston and grew up with her four ...
of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', who gave the film two and a half stars, also enjoyed Chalamet's effort in capturing "first love and its inevitable heartbreak" and said the "multilingual, almost-pre-AIDS idyll does not stretch credulity ... but it can try the patience". Ken Eisner of ''
The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
'' wrote that "Guadagnino's lyrical excesses ... can alternate wildly between the poetically incisive and the indulgently preposterous." In an unfavorable review, Kyle Turner of '' Paste'' wrote, "The details of the film are too small for anyone, perhaps particularly a queer person, to see", a visual distance that "suggests that the film, in the beginning, is as terrified as Elio initially is. It never gets over that hesitation."
Armond White Armond Allen White (born 1953) is an American film and music critic who writes for ''National Review'' and ''Out''. He was previously the editor of '' CityArts'' (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly '' New York Press ...
of ''
Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...
'' called the movie "craven commercialism" and a "super-bourgeois fantasy" that "exploit the queer audience's romantic needs by packaging them and falsifying them."


Top ten lists

''Call Me By Your Name'' was on many critics' top ten lists for 2017. * 1st – Justin Chang, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' * 1st –
Christy Lemire Christy A. Lemire (née Nemetz; born August 30, 1972) is an American film critic and host of the movie review podcast ''Breakfast All Day''. She previously wrote for the Associated Press from 1999 to 2013, was a co-host of '' Ebert Presents at ...
& Brian Tallerico, '' RogerEbert.com'' * 1st –
Alonso Duralde Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American film critic, author, and podcaster. He has been a writer and editor for ''The Film Verdict'', ''The Wrap'', ''The Advocate (LGBT magazine), The Advocate'' and MSNBC.com. Personal life Duralde ...
, ''
TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...
'' * 1st – Jake Coyle, ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
'' * 1st – David Ehrlich, '' IndieWire'' * 1st – Joshua Rothkopf, ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...
'' * 1st – David Rooney, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' * 2nd –
Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
&
Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor ''Th ...
, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' * 2nd – Emily Yoshida & David Edelstein, ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
'' * 2nd – Tim Grierson, ''
Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
'' * 2nd – Tomris Laffly, '' RogerEbert.com'' * 3rd –
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film i ...
, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' * 3rd – Katie Rife, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' * 2nd – Rex Reed, ''
New York Observer New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
'' * 3rd – Richard Lawson, '' Vanity Fair'' * 4th – Lindsay Bahr, ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
'' * 4th – Bill Goodykoontz, ''
Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
'' * 4th – Peter Debruge, '' Variety'' * 5th – Marlow Stern, ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' * 6th – Stephanie Zacharek, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' * 6th – Ann Hornaday, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' * 6th – Mara Reinstein, ''
Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...
'' * 7th – Alissa Wilkinson, '' Vox'' * 8th –
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
, '' Variety'' * 10th – Michael Phillips, ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' * 10th – A.A. Dowd & Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' * Top 10 (listed alphabetically) –
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' * Top 10 (listed alphabetically) – John Powers, '' Vogue'' * Top 10 (listed alphabetically) – Dana Stevens, ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' * Top 10 (listed alphabetically) –
Joe Morgenstern Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for ''Newsweek'' from 1965 to 1983, and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morge ...
, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' * Top 10 (listed alphabetically) –
Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''


Depiction of age gap in a sexual relationship

The film's depiction of a sexual relationship with an age disparity between Elio and Oliver drew commentary and criticism—especially in the U.S., where the lowest legal age of consent is higher than in Italy. Elio is 17, and Chalamet was 20 at the time of filming, while the 24-year-old Oliver was played by Hammer, then 30. '' Queer Eye'' host Karamo Brown criticized the movie as glorifying sexual assault and said, "it looks like a grown man having sex with a little boy." Author Cheyenne Montgomery said she was disturbed that one of the protagonists is portrayed as a boy and the other as a man, saying, "Elio is portrayed very much as a child: He shaves peach fuzz off of his face, he cuddles with his parents, his lines are often kind of bratty and childlike, and he's being played as a sexy romantic partner to a character who's very much being portrayed as an adult." Physicians Renee Sorrentino and Jack Turban wrote in ''
Psychiatric Times ''Psychiatric Times'' is a peer-reviewed medical trade publication written for an audience involved in the profession of psychiatry. It is published monthly by MJH Associates and is distributed to about 50,000 psychiatrists monthly. The downloa ...
'': A feature in ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...
'', an LGBT-interest magazine, drew attention to other narrative films depicting heterosexual relationships with similar or greater age gaps, such as between the teenaged Scarlett and the 33-year-old Rhett Butler in ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...
''.


Accolades

The
National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...
and the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
selected ''Call Me by Your Name'' as one of the top 10 films of the year. At the
90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...
, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Chalamet), Best Original Song ("Mystery of Love"), and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the last. Chalamet became the third-youngest Best Actor nominee and the youngest nominee since 1939, and Ivory became the oldest winner in any competitive category. The film received four nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Ivory. At the
75th Golden Globe Awards The 75th Golden Globe Awards honored film and American television of 2017, and was broadcast live on January 7, 2018, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST / 8:00 p.m. Easter ...
, it was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for Chalamet and Best Supporting Actor for Hammer. The film received eight nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards; Ivory won Best Adapted Screenplay. The film led the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards with six nominations, winning Best Male Lead for Chalamet and Best Cinematography for Mukdeeprom. At the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Chalamet was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The film won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release at its 29th ceremony. In Italy, Fasano won Best Editing at the 73rd Nastro d'Argento Awards and 33rd Golden Ciak Awards. The National Board of Review, the Gotham Independent Film Awards, and the
Hollywood Film Awards The Hollywood Film Awards were an American motion picture award ceremony held annually from 1997 to 2019, usually in October or November. It was founded by Carlos de Abreu and his wife Janice Pennington. The gala ceremony took place at the Bever ...
each gave Chalamet its Breakout Actor Award. In a series of articles about the best of the 2010s in film, IndieWire ranked ''Call Me by Your Name'' the 18th-best film of the decade and Chalamet's performance the 39th-best acting performance. ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'' ranked the film the 23rd-best of the decade, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked it 40th, and ''Little White Lies'' ranked it 47th.


Fanbase

The film has gained a large international fan base. During its festival run, people crossed borders and oceans to be among the first to see the film. In 2018, Barb Mirell published a collection of stories from fans around the world about what the film meant to them. By early 2018, the film had attracted a following in China among heterosexual women, who saw it as a Western "
boys' love , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts Homoeroticism, homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it fro ...
" romance, evidenced by its popularity on the Chinese social network and media database
Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese ci ...
. After an Italian fan published coordinates of the filming locations, visiting Crema became a pilgrimage for fans of the film. The city now offers official tours.


Sequel

Guadagnino has deliberated over the idea of a sequel since the film's premiere at Sundance, when he said he realized the characters "could go beyond the boundaries of the film". In October 2017, he said he hoped to make a sequel in 2020 that might be in the style of
François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...
's '' The Adventures of Antoine Doinel'' series, telling the story of Oliver and Elio as they age. "If I paired the age of Elio in the film with the age of Timothée, in three years' time, Timothée will be 25, as would Elio by the time the second story was set", he said. In the novel, Elio and Oliver reunite 15 years later when Oliver is married. Guadagnino said that, in the sequel, "I don't think Elio is necessarily going to become a gay man. He hasn't found his place yet ... I believe that he would start an intense relationship with Marzia again." Guadagnino has expressed interest in the politics of the 1990s, saying, "It is the time of the fall of Communism and the start of the new world order and so-called 'end of history' that Francis Fukuyama established then ... the beginning of the Berlusconi era in Italy and it would mean dealing with the irst Gulf Warof Iraq." In November 2017, Guadagnino said he intended to make a series of five films in which the audience could "see those actors grow older, embodying those characters." A month later, he was reported to have begun writing a sequel that would reveal more about Oliver and resemble
Michael Apted Michael David Apted (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was an English television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the ''Up (film series), Up'' documentary series from 1970 to 2019). He later di ...
's ''Up'' series. Hammer and Chalamet have expressed interest in appearing in a sequel, but Ivory appears to be dismissive, saying of sequels, "that's fine, good. But I don't know how they're going to get a 40-year-old halamet" In January 2018, Guadagnino said the sequel would be set "right after the fall of Berlin Wall and that great shift that was the end of ... the USSR" and that its first scene could depict Elio watching Paul Vecchiali's '' Once More'' (1988)—the first French film to deal with AIDS—in a theater. In March 2018, Guadagnino said he would work with Aciman on the sequel, which would take place "five or six years" later with "a different tone". He also said that Hammer and Chalamet would reprise their roles with a different backdrop, where they "go around the world". Hammer said he was pitched the script by Guadagnino, saying: "it's not a finished script, but he's got all the ideas for it". In April 2018, Aciman said in an interview that he and Guadagnino were "not sure" about the sequel, saying Guadagnino "has quite a few projects in line and so do I. So we are flirting with each other about the sequel but I don't know if we are very serious." In July 2018, Stuhlbarg said that Guadagnino and Aciman were excited about the project and that the director was "serious" about it. He expressed enthusiasm to reprise his role, saying "I think it would have to be some kind of unique thing from what it was, but I would absolutely be game for trying." Two months later, Hammer said of the sequel in an interview: "It will happen because there are already people working on it and trying to make it happen." In an October 2018 interview, Chalamet compared the sequel to
Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...
's '' Boyhood'' (2014) and said that Hammer, Aciman, and Guadagnino all intended to return for the next film. Also that month, Guadagnino said he had asked
Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a nomination for a British Academy Film Award. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Johnson made her ...
, a frequent collaborator of his, to play Oliver's wife in the sequel. He described her character as "a New England kind of woman" who might also have children with Oliver. He said the film would be "a new chapter in a chronicle" about the characters, rather than a sequel, and might take some time to develop due to his busy schedule: "I have not been able to luxuriate in anything but the promotion of ''
Suspiria ''Suspiria'' is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partially based on Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay '' Suspiria de Profundis''. The film stars Jessica Harper ...
'' ... I didn't have space of mind and the real, actual time to put ideas on the table and think of things." "The only problem is the title", he said; "It cannot be ''Call Me by Your Name Two''". At the SCAD Savannah Film Festival in October, Hammer said that Guadagnino had laid out a potential plot for the sequel and that it might be a few years away: "he wants to wait so that we age a bit more so that gap makes sense, kind of like a Linklater thing." In a November interview, Guadagnino said of the sequel, "It's a delicate flower that is blooming very slowly. And so I think it's not the time to collect it and put it into a vase." In November 2018, Ivory said he would not return for a sequel and that Aciman thought "it was not a good idea". But less than a week later, Aciman said he was in fact writing a sequel. The novel, '' Find Me'', was officially confirmed in March 2019 and was released on October 29 by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...
. Also in March 2019, Hammer said the film was not formally in the works and that he had had no explicit conversations with either Chalamet or Guadagnino about it. He also felt the potential sequel might not match the expectation, saying, "It felt like a really perfect storm of so many things, that if we do make a second one, I think we're setting ourselves up for disappointment. I don't know that anything will match up to the first ... I'm like, 'That was such a special thing, why don't we just leave it alone?'" In March 2020, Guadagnino confirmed a sequel film in an interview and said the original film's full cast would return. He also said he was due to meet with an unnamed American writer to discuss the sequel, a meeting postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In a September interview, Hammer said: "I've been talking to uadagnino but we haven't got into it. I haven't even read the book. I know Luca hasn't got a full script yet, although he knows what he wants to do with the story, so I don't know how similar or dissimilar it will be to ''Find Me'', the novel. I know if we end up doing it, it’s more important for me to focus on Luca’s vision than to focus on ''Find Me''." A series of allegations against Hammer of emotional abuse and cannibalistic fetishism in 2021, which he has denied, resulted in Hammer's removal from nearly all upcoming projects, raising doubts about the prospects of a sequel. Despite this, Stuhlbarg said he hoped the film would still be made. In May 2021, Guadagnino suggested in an interview that a sequel was no longer in his priorities, hinting that, beyond the complications related to Hammer's scandal, he and Chalamet would be busy with other films in the near future, leading him to put the sequel aside.


See also

* List of LGBTQ-related films * List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Call Me by Your Name Call Me by Your Name 2017 films 2017 independent films 2017 LGBTQ-related films 2017 romantic drama films 2010s American films 2010s Brazilian films 2010s coming-of-age drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s erotic drama films 2010s French films 2010s French-language films 2010s historical romance films 2010s Italian-language films American coming-of-age drama films American erotic drama films American independent films American romantic drama films American teen LGBTQ-related films BAFTA winners (films) Brazilian coming-of-age drama films Brazilian erotic drama films Brazilian independent films Brazilian LGBTQ-related films Brazilian romantic drama films Buena Vista International films Censored films Coming-of-age romance films English-language Brazilian films English-language erotic drama films English-language French films English-language historical romance films English-language independent films English-language Italian films English-language romantic drama films Erotic romance films European Film Awards winners (films) Films about father–son relationships Films about juvenile sexuality Films about LGBTQ and Judaism Films based on American novels Films directed by Luca Guadagnino Films produced by Luca Guadagnino Films set in 1983 Films set in Italy Films shot in chronological order Films shot in Lombardy Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award Films with screenplays by James Ivory French coming-of-age drama films French erotic drama films French independent films French LGBTQ-related films French romantic drama films Frenesy Film Company films Gay-related films Italian coming-of-age drama films Italian erotic drama films Italian independent films Italian LGBTQ-related films Italian romantic drama films LGBTQ-related coming-of-age drama films LGBTQ-related controversies in film LGBTQ-related romantic drama films Films about male bisexuality Sony Pictures Classics films Warner Bros. films French-language Italian films French-language American films Italian-language American films Italian-language French films