Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Set in 1983 Northern Italy, a 17 year old boy (Timothee Chalamet) finds himself attracted to the American student (Armie Hammer) who is helping his father (Michael Stuhlbarg) for the summer. Based on the novel by Andre Aciman and directed by Luca Guadagnino (I AM LOVE). This delicate gay coming of age drama may seem superfluous coming on the heels of BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR and MOONLIGHT but it takes a different path. It plays like a memory piece (which the novel actually is) in spite of taking place in the film's present. It's also more romantic but bittersweet nonetheless in its portrait of two people coming to terms with their sexuality but with two different outcomes for them. Young Chalamet gives a beauty of a performance and has a stunning long close up at the end of the film as great as Garbo's in QUEEN CHRISTINA, better actually. Its languid pacing can be annoying at times but the payoff is so worth it. The film doesn't have an original underscore but the music used (Robin Urdang is credited as music supervisor) is perfection. Easily one of the best films of the year. With Amira Casar and Esther Garrel.