Last year, when I walked out of my first viewing of Luca Guadagnino’s sensual masterpiece Call Me By Your Name, I shot rapid fire texts to all of my phone contacts, declaring it to be the best film I’d seen to come out this decade. The film really struck a chord with me and after several (literally several) viewings of it, I still love it as much as I did on that early-December evening. I ordered the novel and began to read it as soon as it hit my doorstep. André Aciman, the acclaimed author (Out of Egypt) and professor at the City University in New York, crafted an endearing masterpiece in his original 2007 novel. He currently made a stop in Australia to visit the Sydney Writers’ Festival, where he made the opening address. I am so thankful for the time I was given to ask him a few questions.
When writing, I feel like I can watch my story like a film in my head. Does this apply to you too, and if so, did your original images translate similarly in the adaptation?
I don’t remember what I had in mind. Once you see a film, it erases everything that came before. I don’t remember! There are certain scenes that I do remember that are very dear to me but most of them just got lost because of the film. I used to imagine Elio looking one way and Oliver looking another way and now I see Armie Hammer and Timotheé.
In the last decade, we’re seeing many films that follow gay relationships. Many have been praised for their authenticity and sensitivity. What changes have you noticed in the way we tell these stories?
I don’t know. I think that what we’re doing is we’re moving away from the typical story about ‘the hardships of being gay’ and the dangers of society. There always was an antagonist that was going to bully you or beat you up, and then there’s also AIDS. What I wanted to do is get rid of everything that stood in the way and just let the romance happen – the way it happens with everyone else. A lot of people are reacting very positively – thank God! – it’s like a breath of fresh air.
I’ve personally never seen many gay films or read many gay novels that don’t have some form of antagonist or boundary that prevents the couple from staying happy for long. Did you have that in mind when you were writing the story, and did you feel like there needed to be a shift in the presentation of these stories?
No! I was not interested. I just thought: let’s just go with the beauty of it and the fun and the joy – and the love…and the sex. Who cares about the rest, I mean it’s such an easy thing to do, to always bring in the villain so that you’ll have drama and death. I didn’t want any of that – I wanted to have fun.
The film has amassed a large fan following of passionate young people. Some even going to the point of getting lines tattooed on their body! Did you know who the audience for this novel was going to be?
I had no idea! I was writing a story that was probably not going to be published because I figured who am I to publish this story – who’s gonna want to buy it? So I figured that I was going to write it because I’m having fun doing it and then we’ll just put it aside. I let my agent read it and she loved it and sold it right away!
What do you hope to see from young storytellers in the future?
Quality [laughs]. Good writing, not just bluh-bluh-bluh.
Any sort of stories?
I like intelligence behind a story because without intelligence you have no introspection, you have no analysis, you have no irony – and you need those. If you’re going to have any depth, you need to have things that are layered, otherwise, you just have good old plot-plot-plot and that’s just boring. It’s good for bad movies but who wants plots? I’ve never been interested in plots.
When I read the book, I can only really picture Luca (Guadagnino) directing it, because he has that control and understanding of sensuality and tactility throughout all his films.
All his films! That’s why I was very happy when I heard that he was interested. I thought he wasn’t going to end up doing it. He’s a lovely person!
Everyone’s a bit confused about what’s happening about a sequel…
I’m confused [Laughs]. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We like talking about it and it makes good language and it makes us all feel very good to talk about a sequel to something we don’t want to see end. We haven’t really thought about it, and it’s going to be a while before either of us gets involved in it.
Thank you so much!
This is it! [Laughs]
—
Smartly dressed in a suit, his warm smile lit up the room like a candle. I generally get very nervous when meeting my idols, but André made me feel very welcome and comfortable. I asked him if he didn’t mind signing my copy of the book, and a copy for my uncle, who owns a large-scale poster of the film above his bed.
“Dear Michael, Later!”
André Aciman”
And, for me:
“Dear Nick,
Cor cordium”
Heart of hearts.
Packing my notebook and freshly signed copies up, I told him that I had watched the film seven times, to which he asked – why?
I told him it changed my life. He grinned.
—
Nick Ward
Thank you to Sydney Writers’ Festival and Allen & Unwin.