It started with a marvelous novel by Andre' Aciman, about the powerful romance between two brilliant artistic talents during a delicious and never to be forgotten summer in Italy. One of the pair was the 24 year old American graduate student, Oliver, who had received the envious opportunity of coming to stay as a guest and summer assistant to a renouned antiquities scholar who lived in a gorgeous villa above the ocean in the Italian Riviera, and the just over the Italian age of consent son of the scholar, Ilio, who was a very talented musician.
For Ilio, the summer routine of graduate students chosen to come from foreign places to become part of the family for six weeks while increasing their scholarly bona fides was a bit of a bore. Mostly it meant that Ilio had to give up his normal bedroom in a wing of the villa so that the summer student could have it, and he had to move to a much smaller room down the hall. However, he had a lot of friends and a girlfriend from France and the ocean was great and he always had the piano and his guitar. So, life was good and about to become even better...much better.
The beginning days with Oliver there seemed like with all the other summer scholars, except that Oliver was a bit too self-confident (he had right away opened a bank acount in town and quite quickly became welcomed by the older gambling men and he even found a woman or two who had been immediately drawn to him. Ilio felt that Oliver was rather arrogant and too "American" in his self-assuredness. Being self-assured, Ilio certainly was not.
But oh boy despite that rocky beginning in Ilio's mind, things did begin to change and while Ilio was in emotional and sexual turmoil to the the extent that only a young man can have, Ilio's ever-inceasing attraction to Oliver was unmistakable and urgent.
It was so easy for the reader to fall right in step with Ilio's quest for Oliver, and it was so powerful and wonderful when Oliver finally revealed his mutual feelings toward Ilio. It was all so beautiful and so powerful that I read this book three times, and even then couldn't quite put it down. I had to read certain sections over and over again (the Rome section), and even now, several years after my reading that book, I would stop and read the final five pages over again. It never stopped grabbing me and my heart.
And this just wasn't me. It became a very much loved movie, (which I saw two nights in a row, and then bought the movie to have at home) starring Timothee Chalamet as Ilio, and Armie Hammer as Oliver. Michael Stuhlbarg played the father, whose loving talk with Ilio nobody will ever forget.
For this SONGS OF THE HEART series I wanted to give the powerful background to the music I selected from the soundtrack. To help generate that mood, which I think is so precious, I have here the movie's trailer:
Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH5NTM
Putting these selections together, I was surprised to see how many people have posted their own compilation videos from this movie. He is one made by indigo ibex:
Elio and Oliver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JXCJIbSC_w
This song is so bright and beautitul, young and full of promise. Having a piano at this point is so appropirate, since Ilio, who is so shy to express his feelings for Oliver in words, he can express via the piano, instead:
Song Title: Halleluja Junction--1stMovement
Composed and Performed By: John Adams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEuVb-rNr0M
Ravel is one of my favorite composers and this was such a wonderful selection for this movie. Luca Guadagnino, the film's director, said that whenever Elio would make progress in revealing his love for Oliver, echoes of this music would be played. What I hear in this music is deep feelings, like the depth of the ocean, sunsets, falling stars, and the glistening of hope:
Song Title: Une barque sur l’oean (A boat on the oeon), from Mirrors
Composer: Maurice Ravel
Performed By: Andre Laplante
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkAnau-XU80
Thanks to the three creations used in this movie, Sufjan Stevens became a god to Call Me By Your Name fans. I myself listened to his music every day driving my car to work for a month or more. In this song, the love is in full swing and what I feel is a weight on the heart--not a burden, but a recognition of carrying that genuine love:
Song Title: Futile Devices (Doveman Remix)
Written and Performed By: Sufjan Stevens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49jqVRaxfuA
When two hearts merge, no matter what, they are forever:
Song Title: Mystery of Love
Written and Performed By: Sufjan Stevens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0CP9zpbmAQ
Song Title: Le Jardin Feerique (The Fairy Garden) from Ma mere l’Oye (Mother Goose)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed By: Valeria Svernvanszky & Ronald Cavaye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od8aFNaxJE8&list=PLM1rZjbS5GVrSxZSfqTabeInUWw0ePtry&index=16
Song Title: Visions of Gideon
Written and Performed By: Sufjan Stevens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O65N5WuQfSU
Silent movie theater, no word, just tears.
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