Friday Flicks: ‘Call Me by Your Name’, ‘The Hedy Lamarr Story’, ‘Porto’
Thank heavens it’s Friday. The weekend calls for three indie titles that still reward fresh eyes years after their initial releases. Call Me by Your Name returns for Pride screenings, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story continues to earn recognition for its subject’s dual legacy, and Porto remains a quiet benchmark for intimate European storytelling. Each film now sits comfortably on streaming platforms, and their influence keeps expanding.
Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics)
on limited theatrical release now In the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, precocious 17-year-old young man Elio spends his days in his family’s 17th-century villa, idly whiling the time away transcribing music and reading – until one day, 24 year-old American college graduate student Oliver arrives as the annual summer intern. Together, over the course of a sun-drenched summer that will forever alter their lives, the pair discovers the heady beauty of awakening desire. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) and based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name stars Timothée Chalamet (Interstellar), Armie Hammer (Final Portrait), Michael Stuhlbarg (The Shape of Water), Esther Garrel (17 Girls), and Amira Casar (Anatomy of Hell).
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Zeitgeist Films)
on limited theatrical release now Icon. Immigrant. Inventor. What does the “most beautiful woman in films” from the 1930s and 40s have in common with the inventor whose concepts became the blueprint for cellular and bluetooth technology? They were both Hedy Lamarr, the silver screen beauty whose visage was the inspiration for Snow White. Weaving interviews with never-before-heard audio tapes, filmmaker Alexandra Dean delves into the fascinating life of this technological trailblazer, from her humble beginnings as an Austrian Jewish emigrée to her scandalous nude scene in the 1933 film Ecstasy. Bomshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is the tale of an “unusual and accomplished woman”, spurned as too beautiful to be smart.
Porto (Kino Lorber)
on limited theatrical release now Jake and Mati are two outsiders in the Portuguese city of Porto who once experienced a brief but deeply intimate connection. He’s an American loner exiled from his family; she’s a student from France embroiled in an affair with one of her professors. But a mystery remains about the moments they shared. Working backwards and forwards through time and alternating between narrow and wide visual canvas, they relive a surprising encounter in which time paused for them for just one night. The directorial debut feature from Gabe Klinger, Porto is a journey to a “bygone era of European cinema.” Stars Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), Lucie Lucas (Clem), Françoise Lebrun (Séraphine), and Paulo Calatré (Hay Road).
Ongoing Cultural Impact of Call Me by Your Name
The film’s Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay and four total nominations cemented its place in awards history. Theatrical returns for Pride Month in June 2026 on AMC screens keep the story alive for new audiences. A graphic novel adaptation slated for August 2026 extends its reach into another medium while preserving the original’s sensual tone.
Hedy Lamarr's Enduring Tech Legacy
The documentary earned a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and the New York Film Critics Online prize for Best Documentary. Annual Hedy Lamarr Achievement Awards in entertainment technology continue each November. Lamarr’s frequency-hopping invention remains foundational to Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth, facts the film foregrounded before mainstream tech histories caught up.
Director Gabe Klinger's Career Trajectory
Porto marked Gabe Klinger’s fiction feature debut, with executive producer Jim Jarmusch attached. After a decade away from narrative features, Klinger returned with Isabel, which world premiered at Berlinale 2026. The long gap underscores how rare sustained financing remains for intimate, location-driven stories outside studio pipelines.
Streaming Availability Update
Call Me by Your Name streams on Netflix and Paramount+. The Hedy Lamarr documentary remains accessible through PBS American Masters broadcasts and additional services. Porto appears on various streaming aggregators, giving viewers straightforward options to revisit each title without hunting physical media.
These three films prove that modest budgets and focused storytelling can generate lasting cultural ripples. Their current availability and fresh adaptations keep the conversation open for anyone who missed the original runs or wants to revisit them on a quiet friday night.
