A sensual movie of emotions, based on a subtle screenplay by veteran script writer James Ivory (Maurice, Howards End, Room with a View), set in northern Italy in 1983: the Perlmans are spending the summer in their well-appointed villa. Combining admirable determination, youthful hubris and exaggerated shyness, 17-year-old Elio makes a pass at Oliver, a doctoral student in archaeology who specializes on Roman cultural history and whom Elio’s father has employed for the summer.