Following the earlier behind-the-scenes moments, here are a few more from the set—small, often overlooked details that surfaced during filming and stayed with the people involved.
I don’t want you to go
The peach scene marks a turning point in the film, when Elio and Oliver finally stop holding back. It’s a moment built from small gestures and shifting emotions, brought together through careful direction and camera work.
Director Luca Guadagnino talked about the different aspects of the scene that came together to make it work.
“The real unsung hero is the wonderful Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, our cinematographer. You need focus and a concentration and a sort of devotion to the beauty in all things that this man has in his eyes. And I remember we were shooting the end of the scene when finally Elio cries on Oliver’s shoulder, and Oliver, from being a sort of an aggressor, becomes immediately a welcomer.”
Guadagnino further explained that the moment was especially emotional for Mukdeeprom, whose deep understanding of the scene likely came through onscreen.
“We say, ‘Cut.’ And there was Sayombhu, in the far corner of the room, crying and weeping. Because he witnessed something beautiful happening there, but the kindness of his gaze was there.”
Moments like this remind us that what stays with us long after the film ends isn’t just what happens on screen, but the care and attention with which it was seen — by the camera, and by the people behind it.
Which scene was the most exciting, moving to shoot?
Some scenes are remembered not because of how difficult they were, but because of how strongly they stayed with everyone involved. For Luca Guadagnino, the waterfall sequence in Bergamo was one of those days.
“When we went to Bergamo at the waterfalls – artificial waterfalls, because it’s really a dam. We had to hike for a long time in the woods, for like an hour and a half, […] and each of us had to carry something. It’s always touching to remember that day.”
— Luca Guadagnino
“And Luca goes, ‘I want you to think about the possibilities of impossibility.’ — ‘No, no, wait, I don’t understand.’ And he goes, ‘Just do it!’ and he hit me. Like hard. And it just stunned me. Then he turned around and walked down the mountain. And the water started to fall, they said action, and I turned around like, ‘You just hit me!’”
— Armie Hammer
The Last Kiss – The Kiss of Life
This scene was filmed at the very end of the shoot, after weeks of working together.
“This was the last shot we did in the movie. This was the last scene we shot. It was tough to get, we did a number of takes for this kiss.”
“Because it’s supposed to be, you know, maybe the most unabashed kiss between the lovers in the movie. But that’s tough to play… when it’s overdone, it becomes less real.”
— Timothée Chalamet
Forever Friends
Some lines in the film echo other works and other films, carried into the story through dialogue.
“I made Esther speak a dialogue that is from J’entends plus la guitare (I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar), which is the masterpiece from Philippe Garrel. It’s at the end of the movie when they finally meet, and they speak about being friends for life. We took the dialogue from Garrel and put it in the mouth of Garrel’s daughter. That was a nice mise en abyme.”
— Luca Guadagnino
The Island of Calm
Armie Hammer later described what daily life on set felt like during the shoot.
“The vibe on set felt exactly like what the vibe of the movie was. Super laid back. It felt like a vacation. If there were five minutes of downtime, everybody would just kick back in the grass, open a newspaper, drink coffee…”
— Armie Hammer
The red sweater
Some details on screen came directly from the people making the film, rather than from the costume department
The sweater worn by Michael Stuhlbarg in the phone call scene belongs to director Luca Guadagnino, who wore it during the train scene.