Our weakest spot

–Perlman: You are too smart not to know how rare, how special what you two had was.

–Elio: Oliver, was Oliver.

–Perlman: Parce-que c'etait lui, parce-que c'etait moi.

–Elio: Oliver may be intelligent but...

–Perlman: No, he was more than intelligent. What you two had, had everything and nothing with intelligence. He was good, you both were lucky to find each other because you too are good.

–Elio: I think he was better than me.

–Perlman: I'm sure he says the same thing of you. And when you least expect it, Nature has cunning ways to find our weakest spot. Just rembeber: I'm here. Right now you may not want to feel anything. Maybe you never wanted to feel anything, and maybe it’s not to me you want to speak about these things, but feel something you obviously did. Look, you had a beautiful friendship, maybe more than a friendship. And I envy you. In my place, most parents would hope the whole thing goes away, or pray that their sons land on their feet. But I am not such a parent. We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster, that we go bankrupt by the age of 30, and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make you feel nothing so as not to feel anything, what a waste! Have I spoken out of turn? Then I’ll say one more thing it'll clear the air. I may have come close but I never had what you two have. Something always held me back, her stood in the way. How you live your life is your business, just remember our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once, and before you know it, your heart is worn out, and as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now there's sorrow, pain: don't kill it, and with it, the joy you felt.


Call me by your name, Luca Guadagnino.