Luca Guadagnino’s coming-of-age masterpiece uses color grading to create the feeling of endless summer—that golden, hazy quality of youth where every moment feels both eternal and fleeting. The film is bathed in warm, natural tones that feel almost overexposed, like old film photography.
This approach makes every scene feel like a memory, even as we’re watching it unfold. The grading creates that specific nostalgia for moments we’re still experiencing, perfectly capturing the bittersweet nature of first love and the knowledge that summer always ends.
Guadagnino isn’t the only artist who explores the idea of summer always ends. I highly recommend you check out Frank Ocean’s Blonde to explore that idea through a soundscape.
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