Kinda pretentious and boring

Rating: 5/10 (25 May 2018)

Elio (of 17), a young musician, starts exploring his sexuality and learning about love with his father's student, Oliver (visibly older), who's staying at Elio's family home in Italy for the season.
First of all, the good things. The score and soundtracks are beautiful, all of them either charming by themselves or fitting to the film's time and place. The overall acting feels natural and real, if you're part of an Italian family or have lived amongst them, you'll recognize the warm and homely vibes from their interactions. This feeling is also reinforced through the beautiful setting of the italian summer; the color palette and filters are all fitting too.
So, what is it lacking? The actual plot is dull. Some scenes shine through and might add some meaning, but half the film is just filling: characters going to places, staying at places, having daily life interactions with each other, with very little dialogue through it all. A lot of it could have been cut off and it wouldn't matter. But, most importantly, the relationship between the leads had no real chemistry between them; we do see Elio sneaking glances and touching Oliver's stuff, but when did Oliver even start being attracted to Elio? And what about the girls? Why do they keep making passes at them if they're not into it? The conversations are scarce and don't help clarify anything either- not until the very end, at least. I do realize a more poetic, intellectually romantic sort of public might find their relationship more appealing, though.
I'm pretty sure most of the really bad reviews (1 to 4 ratings) are because of the disappointment resulting from the high expectations its hype generated. Taking that aside, it's just a (seudo?)intellectual movie trying to display love and relationships in a natural setting, nothing much else happening. Nothing great, but nothing horrendous either.