Timothée Chalamet provides a breakthrough performance as Elio, a 17-year old who spends the summer of 1983 at a villa in Italy with his mother (Amira Casar) and father (Michael Stuhlbarg). He flirts with a girl, Marzia (Esther Garrel), but sets his eyes on Oliver (Armie Hammer), a grad student who visits the villa to assist Elio's father.

      Call Me By Your Name is one of the best films of the year because it's profoundly moving, provocative, intelligent and understated. Director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter James Ivory clearly trust the audience's emotions, patience, intelligence and imagination as the story unfolds at a leisurely pace. To label the film as a gay coming-of-age drama would be innacurate, although its protagonist does indeed undergo a sexual identity crisis. The filmmakers don't rely on sex or violence as a means of entertainment or moving the plot forward. Call Me By Your Name is, fundamentally, about the evolution and complexity of human emotions. Don't be surprised if it will put Timothée Chalamet on the map.

      Just like with I Am Love, Guadagnino has a knack for making the most out of the poetry of nature. Every scene has visual meaning without overbearing style. The same cane be said about the musical score which doesn't hit you over the head. Even a lengthy monologue with the father talking to Elio toward the end never becomes preachy or exhausting because it feels drenched in warmth and words of wisdom. If you're tired of fast-paced superhero films that are plaguing multiplexes these days, Call Me By Your Name makes for a great antidote. It's a movie that will make you relate, think and feel without insulting your intelligence. Moreover, it's the rare film that has a large, beating heart beneath its surface and a beautiful soul to boot. The fact that the audience stayed through the end credits with their teary eyes still glued to the screen is a testament to the film's emotional resonance and power.