From the looks of the first official trailer for Call Me By Your Name, love is in the air and it's about to change one young boy's life forever. Based on the André Aciman’s 2007 book of the same name, the film follows Elio, a precocious teenage boy who is gearing up for college and is convinced that he's seen it all. At least until he meets Oliver, a student who has come to Italy to help Elio's professor father for the summer. The two form a relationship that involves dancing in the streets, bonding over art, and secret glances. And the song in the Call Me By Your Name trailer makes these shots all the more exhilarating.
Sufjan Stevens' "Mystery of Love" feels very on-point for this queer love story, which hits theaters on November 24. There's something classical about the new song, and Stevens' gentle falsetto gets at how confusing and exhilarating new love can be. Even more so when you're not quite sure how to navigate the kind of attraction that some see as forbidden.
The Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter seems like a good choice for this movie, since he's as critically acclaimed as the film. (Call Me By Your Name has been one to watch since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and Vulture went as far to call it a "near-certain Oscar contender.")
Over the course of his 17-year career, Stevens has been prolific, writing two whole albums about the states of Michigan and Illinois in 2003 and 2005, respectively. He originally said that the two releases were part of his plan to write an album for all 50 states, but admitted in a 2009 interview with The Guardian that it was more of a "promotional gimmick."
Stevens, whose song "Chicago" appeared in Little Miss Sunshine, created a 2009 multimedia symphony dedicated to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, a decrepit traffic-filled road that stretches the boroughs mentioned in its name. Most recently he worked with members of The National on an album called Planetarium that was inspired by the solar system. This is along with seven solo albums; his most recent is 2015's Carrie and Lowell, which focused on his relationship with his mom, Carrie, who struggled with depression, and the man she was married to, Lowell Brahm.
While you have to wait over three months to see Call Me By Your Name, taking a deep dive into Steven's catalogue isn't a bad way to spend your time. It's filled with intimate moments you'll want to hang onto until this movie comes out.
