Call Me by Your Name Page #7

The statue, missing its left arm but otherwise intact, is of

an athlete, a boxer, naked, a kind of finger-less glove and

wrist-strap. Like the damaged arm and gloved hand, the statue

is encrusted with the lake water deposits of a century. It is

still possible to admire the beauty of the athlete’s face,

set with enamelled eyes that seem to be staring straight out

through the murky water at his rescuers. A photographer in

fins goes in for a close-up. There is great excitement.

42 EXT. SIRMIONE -GROTTE DI CATULLO (BEACH) -AFTERNOON 42

Later, back on the beach. The bronze has been dried and

cleaned. PERLMAN is speaking in Italian with the other men

and women who took part in the operation, and who are

analyzing the find.

30.

ELIO:

Dad, why are we only finding him

now?

PERLMAN:

A good question. His partner

they’re a pair -is in the Vatican.

There are four known sets, after

the Praxiteles originals. This

fellow is Number Three. The Emperor

Hadrian had a pair, dug up at

Tivoli, but one of the more

philistine of the Farnese popes

melted them down and had them

recast as a particularly voluptuous

Venus that was traded to Napoleon

later on.

OLIVER:

I guess they didn’t need two pairs.

PERLMAN:

No..

The sun is setting, casting its last rays on the long-missing

athlete for the first time in more than a hundred years.

Armed Carabinieri assemble to guard it for the night.

PERLMAN (CONT’D)

Who would like to go for a swim

before we head back?

43 EXT. WATER -LAKE GARDA -SUNSET 43

They swim in a little cove not far from the rig that pulledup the bronze Boxer. It is almost dark, with a cloud streaked

sky reflected in the water. The lights on the rig go on,

including a big floodlight. The lake is surrounded by snow

capped mountains.

Treading water, PERLMAN says to ELIO and OLIVER, who are

nearby, and referring to the armed guards left on the

floating platform with the athlete:

PERLMAN:

They’re all such rogues. Our boxer

could be on a plane to the Geneva

antiquities market tonight for all

I know.

They laugh. The moon is beginning to rise over the water.

44 EXT. RIVER -NIGHT 44

The same moon shines on the water of the river where MARZIA

waits for ELIO, as promised. She looks at her wristwatch.

31.

45 EXT. PERLMAN VILLA / MAIN ENTRANCE -NIGHT 45

The Perlman car reaches the villa and all get out. ELIO runs

around the house to get his bike and wheels it out on to the

road.

ELIO:

I have to go!!

The two men smile at Elio's passionate haste.

PERLMAN:

Are you going too?

OLIVER:

No Prof, I have to work.

PERLMAN:

How about a drink to celebrate the

day?

OLIVER:

That would be great.

46 INT. OLIVER’S ROOM -PERLMAN VILLA -NIGHT 46

OLIVER is sitting at his desk in his boxer shorts only,

working; only the desk light is on. A lit cigarette between

his fingers. A radio plays some summer music at a low volume.

Oliver wraps up his corrections on a page and marks it: “to

be typed”.

47 EXT. ROAD / RIVER -NIGHT 47

ELIO is riding on his bike on the way to the river, trying to

catch his date with Marzia. When he gets there, no one is

waiting. He calls her name. There is a soft sound, little

waves lapping on the river shore. The moon is brighter than

ever and has risen considerably.

NARRATOR:

[TBC]

48 EXT. GARDEN -PERLMAN VILLA -DAY 48

The following day. A thunderstorm and heavy rain dashes the

plants in the garden and pours from the roof spouts.

49 INT. LIVING ROOM -PERLMAN VILLA -DAY 49

Inside the villa the three PERLMANS are sitting on a row on a

big couch as the lights flicker.

32.

ANNELLA:

Have you seen my Heptameron?

PERLMAN:

It must be over there...

ANNELLA finds the book.

ANNELLA:

This version is in German, but I’ll

translate:
Ein gut aus sehender

junger Ritter ist wahnsinnig

verliebt in eine Prinzessin. Sie

auch ist in ihn verliebt.

“...A handsome young knight is

madly in love with a princess. She

too is in love with him...

...obwohl es so scheint, als sei

sie sich nicht vollig ihrer eigenenLiebe bewusst.

...though she seems not to be

entirely aware of it.

Despite the friendship...

Freundschaft... that blossoms

between them, or perhaps because of

that very friendship, the young

knight finds himself so humbled and

speechless that he is totallyunable to bring up the subject of

his love. One day he asks the

princess point-blank: Ich bitte

euch ratet mir was besser ist...

reden oder sterben. ‘Is it better

to speak or die’.

The lights suddenly all go out in the house; the music from a

long-playing record dies to a stop. There is a shout in the

kitchen, MAFALDA.

ELIO:

(still thinking about the

Knight and the princess)

I’d never have the courage to ask

such a question.

PERLMAN:

We were your age once. The things

you feel and think only you have

felt, believe me, We’ve suffered

through all of them, and more than

once -some you never get over and

others you’re as ignorant about as

you are today.

33.

ANNELLA:

(nodding in agreement)

Make new friends if the old ones

don’t interest you but stop haning

around the house all the time.

Books, books, books, always books,

et toutes ces partitions... (is all

those score books)... play more

tennis, go dancing more often with

Chiara and Marzia -tu les aimes

no? (you like them, don’t you?) Get

to know people...

PERLMAN:

Find out why others are so

necessary in life and not just

foreign bodies to be sidled up to.

They have been sitting in near darkness. The rain beats

against the window panes. ANNELLA spreads an afghan over the

knees of the three of them, saying “It’s getting cold in

here”. Just then the lights come back on and the music

resumes. She looks at her son and runs her fingers through

his hair tenderly.

ANNELLA Fai anche pazzie se devi. (Do crazy

things if you must.) (Fais des

folies, s’il le faut.)

50 INT. LIVING ROOM / KITCHEN -PERLMAN VILLA -DAY 50

The next day. The storm has passed, leaving a coolness. ELIO

is playing the piano. He is immersed in thought, his mind is

elsewhere. He breaks off, gets up, moves from room to room

downstairs. The kitchen is empty as well. It’s the hour of

siesta. Oliver’s bike is missing.

51 INT. STAIRCASE / CORRIDOR -PERLMAN VILLA -DAY 51

ELIO goes back inside and up the stairs very quietly and

along the corridor he shares with Oliver. He approachesOliver’s door like a detective looking for clues. He is about

to open it when he hears the sounds of someone coming up the

back stairs; he opens the door to his own room instead, and

walks in.

52 INT. CORRIDOR / ELIO’S -OLIVER’S ROOM / SHARED BATHROOM -52

DAY:

MAFALDA appears in the corridor, holding the laundry of the

two young men. She brusquely opens Oliver’s door, puts

Oliver’s shorts, socks, handkerchiefs, maybe the blue

“billowy” shirt, on his dresser. She goes out, then knocks on

Elio’s door.

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