i read call me by your name every year
cos i just think it’s amazing, the narrative voice is so relatable in that Elio overanalyses everything how we do but might never admit. Also VIMINI is such a good character, she helps show another side of Oliver you don’t get to see in the film and i was kinda aghast they didn’t put her in.
Don’t get me wrong, i love love love the movie, it’s beautiful, a piece of art in its own right ofc, and (I’m cringing myself out here) the cinematography is (here we go) SEXY (there i said it) but I don’t think the ending does it justice.
The film shows how Elio is distraught with that long crying final shot as the credits roll, whereas the book takes us past that and how Elio actually moves beyond this initial response.
It’s this last part that actually makes me think the book’s ending is more ambiguous than sad: yes Elio does mourn Oliver’s loss and family life, but he is not broken by it as Oliver thought he might, though he fears he cannot face Oliver’s family.
Sometimes I read the book and I think the ending is tragic, othertimes it seems joyous.
But ultimately the ending where Oliver and Elio return to B. is so so crucial because Elio has come to appreciate the nature of his and Oliver’s relationship as an adult and not just a lust driven teen, however erudite.
He has learned the true significance of calling Oliver by his name.