The continuous negative news cycle has me seeking out beauty in movies, books, and museum exhibitions. It’s one of the reasons I made it a point to see Call Me By Your Name this past weekend. As I mentioned in my post Upcoming Oscar Worthy Films, the film is getting the most Oscar buzz right now. The “romantic coming-of-age drama” written by James Ivory, is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by André Aciman and was directed by Luca Guadagnino, who also directed I Am Love and A Bigger Splash. The film stars Armie Hammer as Oliver, an American grab student who comes to Italy to stay with an archeology professor in Italy in the 1980’s. He develops a passionate relationship with the professor’s son Elio, played by Timothée Chalamet, as “they bond over their sexuality, their shared Jewish heritage, and the Italian landscape.”

The book is actually set on the Italian Riviera but director Luca Guadagnino decided to set the film in Lombardy at the 17th-century Villa Albergoni, a place he actually thought about buying until he realized it was out of his price range, and the town of Crema. The rooms look so perfectly lived in that it was amazing to learn that everything was brought in except the vintage pink sofa in the professor’s library.

Luca Guadagnino called on interior designer Violante Visconti di Modrone, who he calls “a woman of incredible elegance and wisdom.” She had never done set design before but she spent three weeks “gathering furniture and paintings from antique shops, and selecting assorted tchotchkes from her father’s house. She ultimately put together an inimitable home for the Perlman family as backdrop for the action.” She told The New York Times about what went into decorating the house and landscaping the property.

If you want to read more about the villa, Elle Decor featured the house in the December 2017 issue and Architectural Digest profiled it as well. I also love Violante Visconti di Modrone interview about the home on The Spaces.

I know some people might be turned off by the story line but it’s really a film about love in general and navigating life. The father’s speech toward the end is the most moving scene. Armie Hammer is getting a lot of press because his character is a departure for him but the Oscar nomination should really go to Timothée Chalamet. He will definitely be one to watch.

Call Me By Your Name is playing in New York and Los Angeles now and will open in San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, DC on December 15th. It will open in other cities on December 22nd before opening nationwide on January 19th. Definitely see it.