Call Me by Your Name

A gentle story of one summer that hides a surprisingly strong added value thanks to its free atmosphere. Though at first it seemed a bit too artsy for a love story, from the moment an elusive feeling starts to emerge between the piano notes, Luca Guadagnino was effortlessly leading me on a hook. And however much some viewers may argue that two hours is too long for a story unfolding this casually, I would gladly welcome another two. I was so tense, afraid this delicate bond would break. (22/01/2018)

If awards were given solely for building an atmosphere that supplements the narration of a story, Guadanino would need to build a two-story shed in his garden to house them. Call Me By Your Name is an incredibly focused film that you have to watch with attention to find meaning in the details and the snippets of a story unbound by logical conflicts and twists. There were moments when it felt tedious and aloof, and the message didn’t hit me right in the heart, but this is a big movie, no doubt, with brilliant performances and a narration with a feeling for credible emotions about the complexity of deep human relationships. Moonlight may have won the Oscar, but compared to this formally precise probe into male intimacy, it feels like a very shallow and empty wannabe arthouse flick (which it basically is). 85% (16/02/2019)

Citizen Kane for the gay community. A film that speaks openly yet elegantly and gently about everything Moonlight was afraid to say and masked with the glitter of artsy shimmering moonlight. Call Me by Your Name is a masterpiece with a number of scenes that are uncomfortable for a heterosexual male viewer, but also with the highest narrative art for a discerning and receptive film fan. The detailed and absolutely accurate depiction of the deepening of forbidden passion, the director’s work with the actors and their phenomenal performances, the original use of music, the capturing of the atmosphere and mood of the time and place, deepening the main motif with the theme of art and its appreciation, and especially the fathers’ final monologue and the end credits – all of those things make it this one of the most powerful films about one person’s first, absolutely devoted love and passion for another. The whole time, especially from the first open dialogue on the square, I felt like I was watching some classic 1970s film by one of the European filmmaking masters like Tornatore, a film about romantic relationships that is considered the best in its genre, taught at film schools and that no one tries to imitate, let alone outdo. (06/04/2018)

To be honest, this film is nothing special. A summer Italian drama from the eighties, whose benefit is certainly the music, which makes this movie quite interesting. However, the acting is nothing unique. The premise of The Brokeback Mountain is set in the Italian countryside and highlighted by culture, historic buildings, beaches and first loves. Everything is good, I would just simply leave out the main plot. (26/01/2018)

If the whole film had ridden a similar easygoing wave as it did in its last third, it would have been a memorable experience for me. But unfortunately, the impressive conclusion is preceded by a very lengthy "prologue" that really made it hard to watch with its impressionistic, even poetic, nature. I have nothing to fault the cast, Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer had the necessary chemistry between them and I trusted them. But I'm a bit stumped as to how the film won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay – personally, I would have cut it by at least twenty minutes and added to the build-up of the plot. On the one hand, I understand the intention in terms of the gradual narrative and the birth of a fragile relationship between two people, but as a viewer I simply found it taxing in terms of holding my attention. The highlights for me were undoubtedly the scenes of Elio and Oliver's last days together and the final conversation between father and son. With this film, on the one hand, I understand all the fuss and positive reactions, which is why, on the other hand, it makes me all the more sorry that I can't join the enthusiastic fans and admirers of this piece of cinema. (P.S. Maybe I'll come back to the film after reading the book and reconsider everything!) (02/02/2019)