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Rating:
The skin in the sun, the hair, the bare feet, the sweat, and the scents of summer. A totally epidermal film, experiential, to be empathically lived. Also because the screenplay isn't much to speak of, a simple story not even that well written, but walking out of the theater leaves you with the feeling of having lived that summer of 1983 in the marvelous villa and the northern Italian countryside alongside the two protagonists, Elio and Oliver.
In a work that surely errs in its length and with a few empty spots, there are some interesting elements, even if they seem coldly juxtaposed like a philosopher observing a story of simple sexual impulse and then makes his refined reflections. In this case, the clear and expert perspective is from Elio's father, who arrives like a deus ex machina to reinforce and, in a certain sense, liberate his son's feelings.
But for the rest, Guadagnino's work is the most ordinary of love stories, something very adolescent, instinctive, without too many complications. Certainly, there is an effort to surpass that reluctance which prevents living one's instincts serenely, there is the necessity to steer away from the easy and taken-for-granted path. But this process is not particularly tormenting, given the cultural caliber of Elio's family and the very liberal environment in which they live almost solipsistically, between the garden and their bedroom, between books and the piano.
In short, more than a reflection or an interesting story, here there is an intoxicating vision of a summer as wonderful as it is difficult. Beauty is everywhere: in the rooms, in nature, in the surrounding cities and countryside. In the protagonists and the many village girls who appear now and then, in the music and the colors. It is therefore necessary to approach it with a certain detachment and to separate those elements (also quite obvious and banal) that simply tickle each of our aesthetic tastes from the remarkable cinematic constructions.
And there are some. For instance, in the shots that happily draw the feelings of Elio and Oliver, distancing themselves, highlighting details, positioning the two boys in the scene according to different solutions, and fully exploiting different depths of field. Viewing the two bodies from afar, to capture their almost classical beauty, like statues, and then moving closer to their faces, creating an effect of intimacy precisely thanks to numerous long shots, which—by contrast—make the close-ups more effective. In this way, Guadagnino manages to convey the idea of an obsession, sweet and dramatic, terrible because it crashes into an inexperienced boy's life.
It's unfortunate that in the long run, some dialogues become out of place and very banal. But this also shows how beautiful and meaningful that almost-silence was in the first part. And that is the strength of the film, which lives precisely in the bodies of Elio and Oliver, in their cyclically coming together and moving apart, like a mating dance, in their gentle touches and violent grips, in their surrendering to each other. And it's beautiful that the barriers and obstacles to homosexual love are not external, imposed by society, but rather internal, stemming from the fear of bonding with someone who truly polarizes your desires, much easier are stories with the beautiful village girls, for whom one feels almost nothing. In this sense, the film does not truly speak of homosexuality, but of feelings in general, and of the fear of turning one's most intimate and hidden obsessions into acts.
I can't call it a great film, but it's certainly an experience worth having.
7/10
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