Luca Guadagnino, the Italian filmmaker behind Call Me by Your Name, has revealed that one of the movie’s memorable visual details was never planned. The flashes of blue seen throughout the 2017 romance were actually caused by a processing error, but Guadagnino decided the mistake made the film better.
Luca Guadagnino reveals lab mistake accidentally created Call Me by Your Name’s distinctive flashes of blue
Variety reported that speaking at a master class at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, Guadagnino looked back at the making of Call Me by Your Name and explained how the unusual blue tones came about.
The director said the shades of blue were “just a big, big mistake made by the [processing] lab.”
Instead of correcting the footage, Guadagnino saw something meaningful in the unexpected result. He said, “I have never been able to reshoot anything in my life because A: I’m very practical. And B: I never had the means to do that.”
“So, I watched this thing, and I said: ‘This is miraculous, because those flashes of light, to me, are the butterflies in Elio’s stomach. And so we kept them in the movie.’”
The 2017 film went on to become a major success after premiering at Sundance. It received Oscar nominations for best picture, adapted screenplay, song and actor, with Timothée Chalamet’s performance as Elio helping launch his career.
The unexpected visual effect was only one part of Guadagnino’s discussion in Venice. He also spoke about his close relationships with actors, including Julia Roberts, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes.
“The truth, the banal truth, is that I am enamored with actors and definitely in love with my actors,” Guadagnino said. “So it’s a very tender emotion for me to work with them.”
Guadagnino will remain a major presence at this year’s festival. Venice will premiere his seven-hour Bernardo Bertolucci documentary Joie de Vivre on Sept. 8, with additional screenings on Sept. 9. He will also receive the festival’s Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award ahead of the first screening.
