Exquisite and Fascinating

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2018)

I do not think I have ever enjoyed a film so much! Being a 17 year old myself, the character of Elio really inspired me; he inspired me that it very well is better to speak than to die. This film beautifully portrayed the slow burning of a love between teenager Elio, and graduate student Oliver. I love that it was slow at first, it really went into depth of their lives in Northern Italy, it made me feel like I was right there, living with them. The film was shot so nicely, it focused on the small details of everything, nothing was just left in the background; everything added to the atmosphere of the story. I now feel like I have been to Italy, and I now want to visit again, but for real this time.
The way everything happens in the film, I just adore so much. I love their relationship, they care so much for one another, as to why when they part at the train station, it is so utterly heart-wrenching. The cracking of Elio's voice while he is on the phone with his mother gets me every time- I have watched the film three times now, and I do not plan on stopping there.
Overall, I have to say, the book was perfectly adapted into this film. There may have been some things not included from the novel, but some of those things are just hard to include in a movie, which I understand. One of the things I loved most, as did everyone else I am sure, was Mr. Perlman's speech towards the ending, to Elio. It really opened my eyes up, so wide, that I started crying because everything that he was saying was so beautifully said and it inspired me to already start living my life differently. I have never felt this much emotion from a film, ever, and that is what I love most about it.