Call Me by Your Name Page #4

OLIVER (CONT’D)

What do you do?

ELIO:

Transcribe music. Read books. Swim

at the river. Go out at night.

OLIVER takes this in, his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses as

he gathers up his things, cutting their conversation off.

They silently reclaim their bikes. OLIVER seems to be miles

away, but as ELIO is getting on his bike, he loses balance

for a moment and OLIVER puts his arm around Elio’s shoulder,

steadying him. He then speeds off, saying “Later”, leaving

ELIO on his own.

14 EXT. SOUTH TERRAZZA -PERLMAN VILLA -DAY 14

The same day. ELIO is sitting at a table in the shade of the

house, practicing his guitar. From where he sits he can see

OLIVER ride up on his bike and dismount. He has to pass by

ANCHISE, who is doing some garden work with small plants and

a ball of twine. OLIVER stops to watch and converses with

ANCHISE in Italian.

ANCHISE:

Non bisogna dare troppa acqua ai

pomodori. (You dont want to douse

the tomatoes with too much water)

OLIVER:

Pomodori? Oh, Tomatoes...

ANCHISE:

Sì! Tomatos.. Se crescono troppo in

fretta saranno pieni di semi. No

good! (They will grow too fast.

They will be mealy.)

ELIO sees this but is too far away to hear what they say.

9.

Later. OLIVER is lying on a towel spread on the grass nearby,

reading a book, which we see is Heraclithus. He wears a green

bathing suit and his straw hat. His belongings are spread out

around him:
sun lotion, a note pad and pen, espadrilles.

At the bottom of the stairs, in the middle of the field, the

PERLMANS and some FRIENDS in bathing suits are sitting around

an old stone drinking trough, now used to freshen up. There

are always people coming and going at the Perlmans’ friends,

relatives, acquaintances of Elio, like Marzia. We

don’t always learn who they are, but they give a sense of

ever-moving inhabitants of the place.

Oliver lowers his book and stares at ELIO, who is focused on

the fingerboard. ELIO raises his face to see if OLIVER likes

what he is playing, but OLIVER looks back without expression,

almost coldly.

Unsettled, ELIO breaks off for a moment, then returns to his

music-making, looking down. OLIVER, aware that he has caused

ELIO to interrupt his flow, gets up and comes over to where

ELIO is sitting. ELIO is non-committal, hiding hurt feelings.

In a pause, OLIVER questions Elio about the piece that broke

off -who was it, or is it yours? Do I know it?... It sounded

like... ELIO hits some notes: This? Or that?

OLIVER:

Just play it again.

ELIO:

I thought you didn’t like it. Hated

it...

OLIVER:

Hated it? What gave you that

idea?.. Just play it, will you?

ELIO:

The same one?

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