Call Me by Your Name (2017)

The cruel thing about Call Me by Your Name is that summer looks almost too good. Long afternoons. Bike rides. Swimming. Music drifting through an Italian villa. Elio and Oliver have all the time in the world—until suddenly they don’t. That’s why it belongs here. The romance doesn’t just happen during summer; its temporary nature is part of the romance. Every perfect moment feels more dangerous because September is waiting offscreen. Against Dirty Dancing, this is quieter and far more bruising. Against Adventureland, it turns the messy summer fling into something almost dreamlike, then makes you sit with what’s left when the dream ends. That final fireplace shot is basically September Blues in human form. Is this summer love at its most powerful, or does the heartbreak overwhelm the summer feeling?