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Our take
Set across a single Italian summer, this is a slow, aching coming-of-age love story. Seventeen-year-old Elio and an older graduate student drift into a physical relationship, and the film shows brief nudity and a couple of discreet love scenes. Cigarettes and a little wine fit the holiday setting, while swearing stays light. The grown-up feelings and the age gap at its heart make it one for older teens.
Uplifting themes
First love, longing and heartbreak are handled with genuine honesty, and the father's closing words about not shutting down your feelings land as quietly moving. Warmth and acceptance hold the whole film together Warm and open, Elio's parents give him space to feel deeply and to be himself without any judgement. Even when emotions run high, the adults around him show steady kindness and acceptance Greco-Roman art and classical music fill the family's home, and the summer runs on books, piano and translation work. Curious teens may well come away with a taste for that world
Story (may spoil tone)
In the summer of 1983, a 17-year-old Elio spends his days in his family's villa in Italy. One day Oliver, a graduate student, arrives to assist Elio's father, a professor of Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever.
Details
Language A stray coarse word surfaces now and then, including an f-word or two,…
A stray coarse word surfaces now and then, including an f-word or two, though swearing never becomes a regular thing. Most of the dialogue is soft, grown-up and unhurried
Sex / nudity As the romance deepens it turns physical, bringing brief nudity, a few…
As the romance deepens it turns physical, bringing brief nudity, a few discreet love scenes and some frank sexual talk between the two leads. None of it is explicit, yet mature sexual content sits right at the centre of the film
Drugs / alcohol Cigarettes are a frequent sight, and the young characters pass round wi…
Cigarettes are a frequent sight, and the young characters pass round wine and get mildly tipsy at a party. It all feels like period holiday ease, and nothing suggests any of it is treated as a worry
Flashing lights We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
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Talk after watching
- Elio and Oliver have a real age and experience gap. How would you talk with your teen about consent and equal footing in a relationship?
- The film lingers on longing and heartbreak. What did your teen take from Elio's dad and his advice about letting yourself feel things fully?
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