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How a bittersweet coming-of-age love story became the Light House's longest running film ever

Call Me By Your Name was a hit with Irish audiences, running for 30 weeks in the Smithfield cinema.

A COMING-OF-age drama centred on a romance between the two lead male characters was set to have its last showing this week at Dublin’s Light House Cinema, after becoming its longest running film of all time.

Call Me By Your Name first came to the Light House in October, and has been running at the cinema in Smithfield ever since, with at least one showing a week.

Set in 1983, it tells the story of 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and the experience of his first love while spending the summer at his family’s holiday home in Italy.

This love comes in the form of Oliver (Armie Hammer), a doctoral student hired to assist Elio’s father in his research.

Their relationship develops but with a bittersweet edge in this coming-of-age drama.

The film received critical acclaim and a number of award nominations, including nominations for best picture, best adapted screenplay and best actor for Chalamet at this year’s Academy Awards.

call me by your name 2 Chalamet (left) and Hammer in the film Sony Pictures Classics / Youtube Sony Pictures Classics / Youtube / Youtube

But why has it so gripped Irish audiences that they kept coming to see the film week after week?

 

Charlene Lydon, programmer for the cinema, told TheJournal.ie that they was general awareness that they had a really good film on their hands, but didn’t believe it would do as well as it did.

She said: “It’s been going on for 30 weeks now. We all had an instinct it’d do very well.

It became clear once we were doing one or two shows during the week well into the New Year that it was something special.

Lydon said that a community had developed around the film, and that staff at the cinema often see the same faces returning to see it again and again.

“We also realised people were going to see it for the fifth or sixth time,” she said. “I know a lot of people thought it was good, but it really is a beautiful film experience.

You’re watching people fall in love. Visually, it’s a nice space to be in… And so many different types of people come to see it. It’s obviously had a positive reaction in the LGBT community but it’s not just that. It’s a love story.

Lydon added that the awful weather during the winter and early spring may have played a part in drawing more people into the cinema generally.

The previous longest running film at the 10-year-old cinema had been Manchester By The Sea, which ran for weeks and months after its release at the end of 2016.

That plot of this focuses on Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), who becomes the guardian of his temperamental nephew Patrick, when his brother dies of a heart attack.

That ran for 26 weeks and Lydon said a similar community grew up around that film.

“We’d have it every Sunday at 10 o’clock,” she said. “We kept seeing the same people, and some even made friends with each other over the film. It was nice to see.”

Looking ahead, it could be take time before a film eclipses Call Me By Your Name in terms of longevity on the cinema listings, but Lydon had a few recommendations if you’re heading to the cinema but steering clear of the blockbusters this summer.

“There’s the new documentary about Alexander McQueen which is a fantastic watch,” she said. “There’s Dublin Oldschool coming out at the end of June, and then a lovely horror film called Hereditary out in the middle of the month.”

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    Mute De Wit
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:04 PM

    Russia tried to warn the west they were backing the wrong horse, they didn’t listen…

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    Mute amos brearly
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:10 PM

    And what is the UN doing? Nothing, just like they watched Yugoslavia go into meltdown.

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    Mute William Boyd
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    Jan 2nd 2015, 2:11 AM

    When a religion is involved particularly Islam, evil will out, even simple brain movements are swamped by brainwashing

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    Mute Bertie
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:17 PM

    All because the USA armed, trained and funded rebels who wanted to overthrow the democratically elected government. Good old Murikka.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:54 PM

    Whatever else about the clusterfvck that is present-day Syria, don’t be under the illusion that Assad was ever democratically elected.

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    Mute x
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:05 PM

    Democratically elected? Assad has been in power for 15 years and his father 29 years before that both winning rigged/unopposed elections

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    Mute Ben Murphy
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:09 PM

    That was his point.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:12 PM

    Ben, open elections haven’t been held in Syria for over 40 years. All candidates in any so-called elections have to be pre-approved by the regime – hardly what anyone would call democratic.

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:20 PM

    Bertie, would you like to talk about the uprising that assads father brutally put down in 1982? This is the same situation over again.

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    Mute Frank
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:25 PM

    Avina Laaf_ Assad ( like Saddam Hussein) protected vulnerable ancient Christian settlements from US backed head hackers.

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    Mute Horgay H
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:28 PM

    Re Avina

    Brush up on your history. Elections were held recently enough in Syria. I believe it was over a year ago at this stage.

    Also, don’t forget NATO’s own polls a few months back put support for Assad at at least 70% of the population and even up to 85/90%.

    Syria could not have fought off the proxy invasion of its country by Saudi Arabia/Qatar/Turkey/UK/France/US etc without the full support of its population, which it has had. It was very telling early in the conflict and middle that whenever the ‘rebels’ entered an area and took it over the civilian population fled en masse. Whenever the ‘rebels’ were defeated the civilian population returned.

    Besides, we cannot talk of democracy and elections. On the ladder of democracies, ours surely must be on the bottom. Elections every couple of years, very low vote turnout and then our elected representatives go off and give their full support to the likes of the FSA at the start of the Syrian invasion. The FSA has said from the outset that Syria would become an Islamic state with Sharia law if it ever succeeded with its invasion. I do not want my dim-witted elected representatives supporting the likes of that.

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    Mute Horgay H
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:31 PM

    Re Declan.

    You haven’t a leg to stand on. You fervently support the US on nearly every issue yet how many democratically ejected governments has the US toppled because they didn’t suit it’s geopolitical desires. The answer. Countless. Give William Blum a read.

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    Mute Frank
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:34 PM

    Bassar Al Assad must be commended for single handily taking on the evil proxy terrorist forces of the West.

    http://s10.postimg.org/sw3ji1zmh/assad_1.jpg

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    Mute Horgay H
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:37 PM

    Re Frank

    I agree. He is a modern day hero to the people of Syria. I admire his stern belief on his duty to protect his country.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:37 PM

    Frank, would you like to comment on Saddam Hussein’s treatment of the Kurds or the Marsh Arabs? Or maybe Assad senior’s treatment of the civilians of Hama?

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:44 PM

    Horgay, funnily enough civilians tend to flee conflict zones whenever possible, and return when peace returns – nothing odd or telling about that. Regular journal readers will know you have your own take on events in Syria (to which you’re perfectly entitled of course). Most others who have been following this conflict from the very early stages (before your loathed ‘mainstream media’ even began to take an interest in fact) realise that the reality is much more complex than your version however.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:49 PM

    Horgay, please tell me how indiscriminately dropping barrel bombs on built-up areas packed full of innocent civilians is ‘protecting’ his people? The fact that you find these sorts of actions worthy of admiration is nauseating.

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    Mute Frank
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:52 PM

    Avina Laaf_ The combined slaughter caused on the Kurds. Marsh Arabs and Civilians of Hama would dwarf that of what the United States has caused in the Middle East.

    What makes matters more unbearable is that these ongoing atrocities are carried out by proxy terrorists armed and trained by the US. Example would be those schoolchildren blasted to pieces last October by “moderate” rebels.

    This shows up the true yellow bellied nature of the United States Government,

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jan 1st 2015, 9:00 PM

    Even if what you say is true Frank, surely you can’t say that one justifies the other, or in your mind are christian lives worth more than other lives??

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    Mute Horgay H
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    Jan 1st 2015, 9:03 PM

    Re Avina

    I have been commenting on the Syrian conflict since its inception, but under a different guise. And I tell you what, the majority of what I said was ridiculed by you and others when I said the West was arming and training foreign Islamic jihadists in Turkey and sending them into Syria to cause mayhem and destabilise the country.

    You have gotten Syria competition wrong. I guess it hurts when the recent ex US Ambassador to Turkey mucks up and says exactly that.

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    Mute Kustin J Crush
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    Jan 1st 2015, 9:40 PM

    @ Horgay/Frank…. sure Aasad is a lovely chappie, take some more of the meds . ( and no! Some of the other mob are as bad if not worse!…… mind you you won’t hear much condemnation from our chatting classes (no Israelis involved, don’t you know!!!!)

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    Mute Frank
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    Jan 1st 2015, 10:37 PM

    Kustin J Crush_ At least Bassar Assad doesn’t cheer lead a nation that slaughters 500+ defenseless children.

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    Mute KeiKe
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:41 PM

    The representations of the UN in the Team America movie….still pretty accurate

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    Mute Horgay H
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:15 PM

    The article is a fine piece of propaganda and a further attempt to frame the narrative of the story.

    For all those out there who do not follow world affairs then you need to know the following.

    The conflict did not give rise to Islamic groups, Islamic groups were sent into Syria from Turkey from the outset after being armed and trained by the West there. They then proceeded to attack Syrian state forces and begun an ethnic cleansing of areas they began to control, eliminating thousands upon thousands of Christians and other groups. They proceeded to wreck civilian infrastructure, cut communications and killed government employees from postmen to nurses en masse. This was all done with the full knowledge of the moral West. Innocent civilians would not get in the way if geopolitical goals. The ‘uprising’ ( http://thebricspost.com/an-eyewitness-to-the-syrian-rebellion-father-frans-in-his-own-words/#.VKWqYnanw0M) began a few days after a gas pipe deal was signed which was not favourable to Qatar.

    Don’t let the media in the West frame your views on world affairs. We, in the West, have a lot of blood on our hands. We elect these maniac, evil politicians who have let these crimes be committed.

    The summary of the Syrian conflict cannot be whitewashed. The media has covered up the meddlings of the West so many times from Rwanda to Iraq to Libya to, now Ukraine and Syria.

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:21 PM

    Horgay, no blood on my hands! Don’t think that you speak for anyone but your deluded self.

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    Mute Horgay H
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    Jan 1st 2015, 8:35 PM

    Re Declan

    If you have voted for either the Democrats or Republicans then I am afraid there is. And plenty of it. They are two sides of the same coin, giving the illusion of choice.

    The foreign policy if the US has been directly responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of innocent mem, women and children. This cannot be dispute by any sane person. It still does. Look at the Congo, look at what the US help perpetrate in Rwanda with the genocide there that was the result of American meddling.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jan 1st 2015, 10:31 PM

    Ah there’s Deco again, defending the indefensible.

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Jan 1st 2015, 10:37 PM

    Petr, can you please tell me what I’m defending? How did you get “defending the indefensible” from my comment? Or are you taking my quote that I have used on Horgay? This is the guy who has defended dictators around the world. Surely you have noticed that. Or are you in bed with the likes of Horgay, Frank and others?

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    Mute Frank
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    Jan 1st 2015, 11:06 PM

    Declan Noonan_ You are very confused of who you defend.

    Yesterday you admitted that you don’t support Syrian Moderate Rebels.

    Yet the regime that you constantly defend openly supports moderate Syrian Rebels.

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    Mute Charles Mcdonald
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:43 PM

    Almost 9 an hour.

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    Mute Charles Mcdonald
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:47 PM

    Or look at it this way by the time you read the article and comment there is another woman raped strangled or hanged. Maybe another man shot in face or head hacked off.

    I’m sure the Un will issue another very strongly worded letter and maybe have a meeting about having a meeting

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    Mute Wasna Matkaw
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:52 PM

    Let them get on with it.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Jan 1st 2015, 9:47 PM

    A disgusting comment.

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    Mute Charles Mcdonald
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    Jan 1st 2015, 10:29 PM

    Truely horrible. Of this 9 an hour how many are children? I don’t know but I really don’t think 9 soldiers or militants. Talking about innocent men women and children. There was a video few weeks ago I think was on here showing a girl being condemned to stoning by her father. Another months ago of garroting women. Truely vile. Now let’s not be silly it’s not all assad there is war crimes on both sides.

    Arming moderates well who dedides who is a moderate ?? Throwing arms at these people invites trouble. If people rise up and it’s a good cause fine give them a fighting chance but not if their cause involves evil extremists

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    Mute Windom Earle
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    Jan 1st 2015, 7:28 PM

    Not 200,000 as they reported past time

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