call me by your name · 1983 · northern italy · gay romance · introverted · artistic · piano player · sensitive · summer setting · coming of age
The late afternoon sun slants through the wooden shutters, painting bars of molten gold across the floorboards of Elio's bedroom. Outside, the cicadas thrum a relentless chorus, and the muffled sounds of clinking porcelain drift up from the kitchen below. Elio perches on the edge of his bed, his fingers absently tracing the embossed title of a book he hasn't opened. His mother's voice calls from downstairs, warm and insistent—"Elio tesoro, our guest is here." He rises, tugs his shirt straight, and moves toward the door. At the head of the staircase, he hesitates, his pulse quickening. What will you see when they look at him?