not the deepest movie, but worth seeing

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2018)

James Ivory has spent his career directing what are generally seen as serious movies (Room with a View, Howard's End, etc). He tackles a different serious topic as screenwriter of Luca Guadagnino's "Call Me by Your Name" (and winning an Oscar for it), focusing on a romance between two young men in 1983 Italy. I thought that what was most interesting about the movie was the setting. Neither one totally fits in with the surrounding - Oliver even recalls being the "odd Jew out" in a small town in New England - so they have no choice but to find each other.
I should say that the movie is not the most profound. While we learn a fair amount about both Elio and Oliver, it doesn't get to the point where we truly understand either character (though we do sympathize with them).
In the end, I'd say that the movie is worth seeing.