“The ‘why’ is that I love these characters and I love this world,” Guadagnino told The Strand at a recent press conference
At a recent press conference for Queer, Luca Guadagnino’s latest cinematic endeavor, the celebrated director shed light on his approach to identity, storytelling, and queerness in his filmography. Known for acclaimed works with queer characters like Call Me by Your Name, Challengers, and Bones and All, Guadagnino’s films have often been included in conversations about queerness and identity on screen.
The new film Queer follows Lee (played by Daniel Craig) as he lives in postwar Mexico City before setting off on a quest for a plant rumoured to grant telepathy. Throughout the film, Lee longs to fully communicate and be truly understood, transcending the barriers of secrecy and societal constraints, especially in relation to romantic interest Allerton (Drew Starkey).
When The Strand asked about explorations of identity and queerness in his work, Guadagnino offered an intriguing perspective. “I don’t know if I thematically choose to explore themes of identity and queer identity in my work,” he admitted. “I can only speak for what I am attracted to and what I want to tell the story of.”
For Guadagnino, queerness isn’t a deliberate motif he pursues, but an intrinsic part of the worlds he creates. He reflected on the term “queer,” suggesting that he is drawn to it in the sense of “something that doesn’t need to be included, so that it feels to be excluded.” In Queer, that exclusion and fear of exclusion are key motivating factors for the film’s characters. “The ‘why’ is that I love these characters and I love this world,” he explained.
This type of framing aligns with comments made by other directors. Wong Kar-Wai, director of Happy Together once told Eye Weekly “I don’t like people to see this film as a gay film. It’s more like a story about human relationships and somehow the two characters involved are both men.” Luca Guadagnino has previously touched on the subject during the release of Call Me By Your Name. According to The Playlist, Guadagnino commented that he didn’t view it as a “gay” film, but that it was about the “beauty of the newborn idea of desire, unbiased and uncynical.”
While films are able to explore queer identity among other themes simultaneously, this kind of framing helps to fight any attempts to box films like Queer into a category away from the general film landscape and audience. While categorisation allows audiences to view films in relation to each other, or build on a particular cinematic language, some artists have contended that categorisation also creates exclusionary expectations of who can create within a space, and who should appreciate it.
Guadagnino may not deliberately set out to explore themes of identity and queerness in his films, but audiences and critics consistently frame his work within that context. By presenting his stories as universally human rather than explicitly “queer,” he broadens their appeal to a wider audience. However, this approach raises the question of whether such subtlety dilutes the impact of queer narratives in mainstream cinema.
In response to The Strand, Guadagnino highlighted the freedom and trust that allowed him to bring Queer to life. “I’ve been lucky enough to partner with Daniel [Craig] and have the support of our financiers and producers to make the movie we wanted to make, the way we wanted to make it,” he said. This collaborative spirit enabled him to focus on the characters and worlds he loves, creating a film that feels deeply authentic while aligning with his approach to storytelling.
While Queer undeniably engages with queerness, Guadagnino resists framing his work within that thematic categorisation. His draw to these stories seems to be the characters themselves rather than a desire for particular thematic exploration. His films often allow queerness to exist naturally, as an aspect of the characters, choosing to focus on their stories rather than how those stories fit into broader themes of identity.
The film, which has been garnering praise across festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, is currently in limited release in North America, but opens widely in Canada on December 13th.
