Fans are always trying to relive the experience of Call Me by Your Name. Following the success of the movie, Luca Guadagnino has since worked on a project that explores similar themes. In 2020, the director helmed the HBO series We Are Who We Are, another coming-of-age story, which takes place on an American military base in Italy – this meshing of cultures will also feel familiar to fans of Call Me By Your Name.
Chalamet and Hammer appear in cameos, and Chalamet, along with Call Me By Your Name costar Michael Stuhlbarg, will appear in Guadagnino’s upcoming film, Bones And All. The director has also teased a sequel to Call Me By Your Name sometime in the future, but in the meantime, fans can look back on the movie’s many memorable quotes.
12“Look, You Had A Beautiful Friendship. Maybe More Than A Friendship.”
Mr. Perlman is considered by many viewers to be one of the wisest, most supportive, and kindhearted onscreen fathers in coming-of-age cinema. At the end of the film, he sits down to talk to Elio, who is surprised to realize that his father is more observant than he’s given him credit for.
When he hints that he knows what Elio’s relationship with Oliver really was, the teenager is surprised. Mr. Perlman remains calm and non-judgemental as he bestows his – extensive – wisdom onto his son, who is only experiencing heartbreak and love for the first time.
11“I Remember Everything.”
One of the most important parts of Elio’s arc is his acceptance of everything that has transpired between him and Oliver. After listening to his father’s iconic monologue, Elio takes some time to reflect and process the loss of his first real love.
Months later, at Christmastime, Elio is surprised to get a phone call from Oliver, who brings news of his engagement. The two skirt around what they really want to say, until Elio tells Oliver that his parents know about them. Oliver drops his distant, pragmatic tone, and assures Elio that he remembers everything. Despite the heartbreak Elio feels in this moment, he smiles a little, reassured that it all meant as much to Oliver as it did to him.
10“Cinema Is A Mirror Of Reality And It’s A Filter.”
The Perlmans, along with Oliver and two art historians, are sitting outside for a meal and having an impassioned discussion about Luis Buñuel, a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker. The art historians argue about cinema’s place in culture, and one of them says that it’s a lens through which one can view reality, which suggests that this is what Call Me By Your Name is trying to do, given how committed it is to realism.
However, the historian also says that cinema is a filter; audiences never get the whole picture, so to speak. This enjoyable meta-movie moment reminds viewers that what they’re seeing unfold between Elio and Oliver may be glorified; they’re living in a peaceful, neverending summer where they can do whatever they like, whenever they like, unobserved. (Of course, this changes by the end of the film.) The discussion ends with one historian asking Oliver’s opinion on Buñuel, but the other interjects that he doesn’t know enough about Italy.
9“People Who Read Are Hiders. They Hide Who They Are. People Who Hide Don’t Always Like Who They Are.”
While the film focuses on Elio’s relationship with Oliver, he’s also experiencing another love story on the side. Marzia is his childhood friend, and they are the only two central characters who speak French to each other. When Elio gives him a book, she’s surprised – first, because he seems to be distracted lately (the audience knows that he’s preoccupied with Oliver), and second, because she doesn’t think he’s a reader.
Marzia might not explicitly talk about Elio’s sexual orientation and his relationship with Oliver, but she’s observant and reads Elio very well. She hints that he’s hiding something from her, and that she’s afraid it will hurt her. When Elio asks if she hides herself, she answers no, then corrects herself. This small interaction reveals a lot about both characters.
8“I Like The Way You Say Things. I Don’t Know Why You’re Always Putting Yourself Down, Though.”
Elio is a self-deprecating person who doesn’t always like putting his personality on display. He’s not confident in who he is, especially around Oliver, who seems so sure of himself.
During one of the conversations between Elio and Oliver, Oliver points out that he doesn’t understand why Elio constantly puts himself down, to which Elio replies, “So you won’t …” It’s one of the first times Elio is really honest with Oliver, and it marks a turning point in their relationship.
7“… Our Hearts And Our Bodies Are Given To Us Only Once.”
Mr. Perlman reminds his son of his youth at a time when the adolescent feels like this heartbreak will define the rest of his life. “… there comes a point when no one looks at [your body], much less wants to come near it. Right now, there’s sorrow, pain. Don’t kill it and with it the joy you’ve felt.”
This conversation between Mr. Perlman and his son is one of the most memorable scenes of the film, full of great advice. He also reveals that he’s known about his relationship with Oliver all along, and without judging him, Mr. Perlman advises Elio to live his life the way he wants to. He also reminds Elio that he shouldn’t suppress his emotions because life is fleeting.
6“I’ll Never Have The Courage To Ask A Question Like That.”
The Perlmans have a great appreciation of literature, apparent in scenes like the one where Elio’s parents read from the Heptaméron, a collection of short stories by Marguerite de Navarre. “Is it better to speak or die?” Mrs. Perlman reads aloud, to which Elio responds, “I’ll never have the courage to ask a question like that.”
His parents don’t know exactly what he’s thinking, but his father reassures him that he can always talk to them. Elio is, of course, wondering how he’ll ever tell Oliver how he feels. Eventually, he does gather the courage to tell him.
5“If Only You Knew How Little I Really Know About The Things That Matter.”
Oliver compliments Elio on how much he seems to know, but Elio feels like he doesn’t know much. No matter how smart he may be, he realizes that he is not actually as intelligent as some people may think – at least, not in the way that matters. For instance, he doesn’t know how to approach a romantic relationship with Oliver.
The quote says a lot about how mature Elio is – not everyone is able to admit their flaws so openly. In fact, in a way, the quote contradicts itself. Elio is able to act on emotion when it really matters, and this is precisely the thing he’s worried and self-conscious about.
4“We Rip Out So Much Of Ourselves To Be Cured Of Things Faster Than We Should That We Go Bankrupt By The Age Of 30 And Have Less To Offer Each Time We Start With Someone New.”
Elio’s father is a wise and educated man, but he waits for the right moment to reveal just how wise he is. This suggests a high level of emotional intelligence. When he believes Elio is ready to hear it, he tells him that he should allow himself to feel the pain of his loss: “… to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything – what a waste!”
Mr. Perlman takes the time to persuade Elio to live through his feelings instead of trying to dismiss them. When Elio finally cries in the closing scene, viewers see that Elio has taken his father’s advice on board and accepts what he’s experienced.
3“Later!”
One of the funniest quotes from the film is Oliver’s trademark “Later!” that he throws around so often that Elio even teases him for it. He first brings it up in an offhand way at dinner when Oliver doesn’t show up.
Elio makes fun of his American mannerisms, showing that he pays a lot more attention to his father’s student than he lets on. It also makes clearer the contrast between Oliver’s background and the surroundings Elio is used to in Italy.
2“When You Least Expect It, Nature Has Cunning Ways Of Finding Our Weakest Spot.”
Once again, it appears that Elio’s father understands more about his son than Elio himself does. Perhaps as a way to comfort him, or simply to enlighten Elio, Mr. Perlman assures him that “nature” will always find people’s weakest spots.
Elio is much more self-absorbed at the beginning of the movie than he is when he realizes he’s in love with Oliver. Thus, he does have a weak spot, but he isn’t aware of it until later in his journey.
1“Call Me By Your Name And I’ll Call You By Mine.”
One of the most poetic lines of the film, which also happens to make up the title, is the one that sums up Elio and Oliver’s relationship. When Oliver tells Elio to call him by his name, he’s really saying that they have become so intertwined that they couldn’t get any more intimate with each other.
