Okay so, Call Me by Your Name being the first film to feature on this blog is probably a cliche. The peach film; the one with Timothee Chalamet; the one with the twins from the Social Network; whatever you call it, there’s no doubting that it’s one of the best pieces of LGBTQ+ cinema to grace this planet (with an Oscar to prove it).
If you haven’t already seen it and need a brief synopsis, Timothee Chalamet plays Elio who is a teenager wasting away his summers until Oliver (Armie Hammer) shows up to work on his post-grad dissertation with Elio’s father, and oh dear, he’s hot. Insert gay panic, falling in love and then some Kleenex and Twitter rant worthy end scenes.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The film on a whole is beautiful, from the moment Elio first dares to kiss Oliver to the moment he’s sat crying with the fire illuminating his face as Oliver marries a woman.
There’s so much in between those two moments though, shy glances, soft touches, nose bleeds and so, so much love. Luca Guadagnino broke my heart and then pieced it back together about ten times in 132 minutes of run time, and I can’t praise his directing and Timothee and Armie’s acting enough.
Sure, it doesn’t end happy (though there is still hope for the upcoming sequel) but that’s something you have to get used to when watching heart wrenching, angsty gay movies. What it does end is leaving you thinking about warm Italian summer nights, bicycle rides spent laughing with your boyfriend as you wind through cobbled streets and stolen kisses that remind you that there’s nothing more butterfly in stomach worthy than two people finding the person they love most in the world.
Queer as Film 
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