‘Call Me By Your Name,’ ‘Before Sunrise,’ & Dreamlike Romance

Richard Linklater‘s first installment of the ‘Before’ trilogy, “Before Sunrise,” and Luca Guadagnino‘s adaptation of “Call Me By Your Name,” share a quality that’s relatively unique. Both films feel like a pillowy dream. But this isn’t something that is new to either director. Linklater and Guadagnino have portrayed daydream-like places and stories before.

READ MORE: The Essentials: Richard Linklater’s Best Films

In this video essay, Like Stories of Old dives into two films, analyzing their dreamlike qualities. Linklater carries audiences through his dreamscape throughout the entirety of the ‘Before’ triptych. Each new installment is a different vagary, set in a new, fanciful place. It’s something that Linklater never lets go of even when the stakes are high. And as the realistic dialogue propels each film forward, the dreamy settings of Vienna, Paris, and Greece fill up the otherworldly experience.

Guadignino is no stranger to this form either. He too has created a trilogy bound by a sort of magic-hour-like atmosphere. This desire laden triad includes, “I Am Love,” “A Bigger Splash,” and the final installment, “Call Me By Your Name.” His triplet of films mirrors so much of Linklater’s by taking us to the sun-dappled world of Italy. The colors and hues are so vibrant and soft, contrasting the complex relationships between characters.

Both Linklater and Guadagnino have created two trilogies that are, at a glance, very different. Guagdagnino has his interpretation of this impressionistic place. And no film shows that off as much as “Call Me By Your Name.” Linklater has developed his own chimeric romance for over a decade with the ‘Before’ troika. There’s an elegance to each trilogy, and both directors use ever-so-slightly illusory places and atmospheres to add to the story. Even when the experiences of the characters are in complete contrast with the atmosphere (suffering through heartbreak, and indecision), the dreamlike qualities of these places linger like memories in our minds.