soundtrack review: call me by your name
3 times. That’s how many times I had to watch Call Me By Your Name to fall in love with the soundtrack. The first time I watched it, I didn’t understand the film. The second time, I understood the film, but did not have an ear for the soundtrack just yet. The third time I watched it, I finally saw the connection between the visuals and the soundtrack. An intimate connection, just as strong as the film tells a story of.
Call Me By Your Name tells the story of Elio and Oliver, who fall in love during the summer of 1983. The two meet when post-doctoral student Oliver comes to stay at Elio’s home on the Italian Riviera at the request of Elio’s father, who’s an academic, to help him with his paperwork. At first, Elio and Oliver are in denial or indifferent of the tension between them, but it soon becomes too apparent to ignore. The fascination and obsession the two lovers feel for each other is overwhelming. They soon find out that their romance, which only lasts six weeks, will impact them for a lifetime.
The story is told beautifully through the visuals that perfectly capture a hot Italian summer, that truly have an eighties feel to them. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom definitely sets the mood for the film. With such wonderful visuals, it is important that the soundtrack shows the same. And this is what they achieved by creating a soundtrack that uses an interesting combination of 1980s pop songs and classical pieces. This way, the soundtrack is carefully curated to accompany a story of love.
The soundtrack contains songs by The Psychedelic Furs, F.R. David, Franco Battiato, Joe Esposito, Loredana Bertè, Bandolero and Giorgio Moroder and compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, John Adams, Erik Satie, Maurice Ravel and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens makes a special appearance on the soundtrack with two originally composed songs: Mystery of Love and Visions of Gideon, as well as a remix of his track Futile Devices. I will discuss a few of my favorite tracks that are featured on the soundtrack album and show you how they function in the context of this film.
Hallelujah Junction — 1st movement
The introduction to the film is a long one and it is accompanied by this classical piece, composed by John Adams. The light, slightly hopeful piano plays while the film introduces its producers and actors. We see visuals of statues and sunlight. Gradually, the classical piece builds up to a more chaotic tone, something that perfectly captures the essence of the film. The intense but still peaceful music prepares us for what’s to come.
Lady Lady Lady
Lady Lady Lady by Joe Esposito and Giorgio Moroder drags you back to the eighties, as this song was released at the exact time the film takes place. The romantic, slow, but still exciting song accompanies a dancing scene in the film, where Elio sits, smoking a cigarette, watching Oliver dance sensually with one of the local girls. Although we see this, the lyrics seem to be written just for Elio and Oliver’s story: “dancing behind masks, just sort of pantomime/but images reveal whatever lonely hearts can hide”.
Zion hört die Wächter singen
Zion hört die Wächter singen is a classical piece that was originally composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. This version however, is a transcribed one, by Alessio Bax. In the film, we see Elio creating and playing this transcribed version, impressing Oliver in the process. This is one of the first moments we can see a connection starting to form. Elio teases Oliver by playing the melody wrong over and over again, until Oliver is so fed up with him that he walks away, which is when Elio immediately starts playing the correct version.
Mystery of Love
Mystery of Love is one of the original songs that Sufjan Stevens composed for this film. Because it is composed especially for this film, it perfectly captures the film and its story. The gentle, (bitter)sweet melody is one we hear when Oliver and Elio are on a hike to a waterfall. The opening lyrics: “oh to see without my eyes, the first time that you kissed me”, tell us, in a wonderful way, what impact their relationship has on their lives and how deep and intimate it is. It also touches upon how one can’t ever figure out how or why such a connection is formed: the mystery of love.
Love My Way
Love My Way is a song by The Psychedelic Furs. The song contains the film’s most recognizable sync and a catchy beat. This eighties pop song directly follows the romantic Lady Lady Lady at the dance. It is when Elio and his friends join Oliver and his girl on the dancefloor and they dance like there is no tomorrow. The lyrics, though of course unintentional, as this song came out in 1982, summarize the film about new romance in two sentences: “Love my way, it’s a new road/I follow where my mind goes”.
Visions of Gideon
During the film’s ending (spoiler alert: it’s sad), taking place several months after the summer fling ended. We see Elio sitting on the couch after having just received a phone call from Oliver that he is getting married. While Elio stares teary eyed into the flames of the fireplace, we are accompanied by silence, until we hear the opening chords of Visions of Gideon, a twinkling piano. We hear Sufjan Stevens start to sing: “I have loved you for the last time/Is it a video? Is it a video?/I have touched you for the last time/Is it a video? Is it a video?” Narrating Elio’s thoughts of reminiscing about an old love.
In conclusion, I fell in love with the soundtrack to Call Me By Your Name when I saw the connection with the story and the visuals. The combination of 1980s pop songs and classical pieces capture and narrate the story of new love and intimacy during a hot Italian summer perfectly. So I will give you two options for what you can do after reading this review: watch the film again and pay extra attention to the soundtrack OR just buy the record. Just do it.
