Student Picked 3: Call Me by Your Name

3/6/2021

Another film-book pair that I recently read and really enjoyed was Call Me by Your Name. I really appreciated the way that the book was written, and then the way that the film created a dream-like trance that both broke your heart and soothed you. Reading the book was almost like being in a toxic relationship, it felt like I couldn't put it down and I never wanted to leave at however it only ever caused me harm. The way it was written was done so that it was more of a thought process or like a strand of consciousness that continued feeling very realistic and allowing you to grief with Elio. The inner monologue of Elio felt real. It was open and honest and unhinged not keeping anything or any thought from the reader. In the movie, this translated into silence and that's something I really appreciate. The movie obviously has dialogue but the dialogue is very limited and the majority of the conversation only happens between Elio the narrator and Oliver. The silence in the movie draws attention to the body language of the actors as well as the scenery and how this affected the mood and plot of the film. This film reminded me a little bit of some of the military films we had watched as they tended to be quieter minus the war going on. I recently read the Bhagavad Gita and I think that when comparing such a simple book to such a detailed piece of ancient literature you can find that simpling writing out thoughts and feelings can have the same emotional reactions as such detailed poetic prose.

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