Somewhere in Northern Italy

When I first watched the hit indie romance Call Me By Your Name, I didn't like it. I thought that it was a romanticized pervert movie. I mean, Armie Hammer is playing a PhD candidate and Timothee is a young 17 year old sexually confused boy. The whole movie to me seemed as though Elio is just being taken advantage of. He is inexperienced and has no idea how to feel a lot of the time, and this MAN is just there telling him he wants to get with him and then the whole movie just ends with this man running off and getting married to someone else and Timothee is left heartbroken. Also, I found it strange how the parents are aware of their romance but don't think anything strange about it despite the fact that their teenage son is entangled with a middle aged man.....

With that being said, this is THE favorite movie of Keeley and Eva. Not only are they two of my closest friends, but I value their movie opinions a lot. So I gave it a second short (I didn't like it the second time either but I didn't hate it as much).

Then....Eva recommended we go to Crema, where the movie takes place, for her 21st birthday trip. I was excited to go to Crema regardless, but I really decided to give it one last final chance.

I watched the movie, paying attention to every other aspect of the film instead besides the weird age gap. I loved it! The soundtrack is beautiful, the acting is fantastic, Crema is stunning, and the dialogue is incredible. I loved the use of all the different languages!

The monologue at the end of the movie is one of Eva's favorites. I cried my eyes out hearing it this go around.

The dad says "We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything — what a waste! Have I spoken too much? Then let me 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 or 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’ve felt.”

Okay so now I love this movie and appreciate how it provides strong LGBTQ+ representation, showcasing archaeology, and all the other good stuff I mentioned previously.

Anywho, my friends and I travelled to Crema and the town clearly attracts many CMBYN fans. They knew why we were there. We were even given a map of how to get to all of the filming locations.

Crema was magical. Visiting the filming sites didn't even feel like tourism. My friends and I created so many movie moments ourselves at these places. It was unreal. It felt so personable being there. We were 'adopted' by our Air Bnb host mom and she taught us how to make italian food. We visited her daughter's art gallery and even got to attend the first ever Crema Salami festival.

We rented bikes and swam in ponds and stayed up late talking. There was even a rooster that woke us up every morning.

This was one of the best weekends of my life. I enjoyed being there so much and meeting all the amazing Crema residents. They were the kindest people ever. I hope everyone in the world gets to go see Crema at some time in their lives.

I am attaching a video my friend Care put together of our trip. She captures it so beautifully!