I Haven't Even Watched "Call Me By Your Name" Yet And It's Already My Favorite Movie
As a career Armie Hammer enthusiast, you can pretty much count on me to see any movie he's in (tolerated the Lone Ranger, hated J. Hoover). This was not the sole reason for my Thanksgiving deep-dive into Luca Guadagnino's upcoming "Call Me By Your Name" , but it was a welcome plus. If you haven't heard about it, the film is set in the 80s in Crema, Italy, where a teenager and his dad's grad student fall in deep, beautiful homosexual love to the sweet sounds of original Sufjan Stevens compositions. Everything about this movie looks gorgeous. Between this film and Stranger Things, 2017 is the year of 80s nostalgia felt by kids born in the 90s. It's a beautiful thing to behold.
Graduate school apps are keeping me from seeing the light of day and I haven't been able to watch more than a few trailers, but this in no way confines my ability to form an opinion out of thin air. Here are six things I'm looking forward to seeing in this film as soon as possible.
1. Setting. Did you know that Crema (the film's setting) is the only place you can get sweet tortelli (tortelli cremaschi)? That's about the only fun fact I could find on Crema, which tells me that the place must be so beautiful that it doesn't need to whore itself out to UNESCO. Hear that UNESCO? NOBODY NEEDS YOU.
2. Soundtrack. I will listen to any movie where the main characters dance to Psychedelic Furs or take long bike rides in the country to the tune of sensual piano music. This one has both.
3. A Picture of Academic Paradise. I'm actually 90% sure a summer villa in Italy outfitted with antique furniture, the bank account to actually pay for it, and a son who can speak three languages is what every liberal arts grad student envisions when they look into the mirror of Erised.
4. Reviews. The last time a movie was so universally beloved by critics was, like, "Thor: Ragnarok", and even they were a little surprised about that. NPR has a really beautiful review where Glen Wheldon points out how refreshing it is to have a movie about two gay men falling in love that doesn't end with one of them getting AIDs or withstanding a beating by a passing witness, even though the movie is set in deeply Catholic 80s Italy. Vanity Fair called it a "heavily decorated classic in the making". My favorite, of course, is Vulture's, which said, "It's always a sign when guys are really into the Greeks"
5. Supporting Cast. Maybe I can't have everything I want and Louis Garrel isn't in this movie but his sister is and that's good enough for me.
6. This still, which is 1000% something I would do if I were in the vicinity of my crush while simultaneously holding a priceless artifact of ancient history.
