If you liked “Challengers” or “Call Me by Your Name”, you might like “We Are Who We Are”, an HBO Max original series created by Luca Guadagnino. This series takes place on an American military base in Chioggia, Italy and follows two teens, Fraser Wilson – played by Jack Dylan Grazer, and Caitlin, played by Jordan Kristine Seamon – as they grow into themselves and question their identity.
This series, like all of Guadagnino’s projects, is beautifully shot and, like most of his projects, deals with queer themes. In this format, he’s able to deeply explore the main characters, their personal growth and budding friendship. Curiously, the introduction to Fraser makes you hate him for the first few episodes. Deciding to start with such an unlikable character and somehow making him likable and engaging is an uncommon choice but works to this show’s advantage. Fraser is immediately shown to be a complicated and complex character who makes the viewer curious to understand him better.
On the same note of complexity, we never get direct answers regarding the characters which fits perfectly with the series. These are young teens who are growing and changing for many more years to come, so there aren’t going to be cut and dry answers or resolutions for them. So much of their lives are dictated by the adults around them, but by the end, we see that they’re able to at least step out from under that in pursuit of engaging in a life of their own with the people they choose to surround themselves with.
Compounding with the usual struggles of growing up, the main characters are all dealing with their identity while in an uncommon environment: a military base in a foreign country. I found this series particularly interesting because of the location, as I don’t have much experience or knowledge on what life looks like for people living abroad on a military base. But the series does a good job exploring that and the effects that it can have on a young person.
We see that there’s a strong level of American patriotism, which isn’t surprising, but stands out in a foreign country with its own national pride. We see conflict arise not only between the Americans and the Italians, but amongst the Americans themselves. Some of the students questioned the role the United States was playing in foreign politics, whereas others had been strongly biased by their upbringing and valued patriotism over everything. It brings up interesting dynamics when we see teens who spend the majority of their lives on a military base surrounded by soldiers and unwavering patriotism.
Fitting the bill for a Luca Guadagnino creation, we also see interesting ideas about love, friendship and relationships, especially amongst queer couples. We see that the main parents, Fraser’s moms, have various struggles regarding their love, acceptance from others and dynamics with their son. Guadagnino explores interesting dynamics with mothers and sons, focusing on ideas of narcissism and control in a way that I haven’t seen done before.
Guadagnino chooses to explore dynamics between friends as Caitlin has her own group that has been on that particular base longer than Fraser, who arrives at the beginning of the series. Upon meeting Fraser, Caitlin is finally able to be herself in ways it seems she hadn’t allowed before. This wasn’t because her group of friends was bad; rather, they weren’t really similar to her, and she seemingly didn’t feel understood by them. Fraser offers her this understanding in their friendship, with limits, as there are things that Fraser doesn’t understand about Caitlin, but at least he doesn’t make her feel judged.
Many filmmakers, particularly when trying to tell queer stories, may feel the need to make it a clear, cut and dry story, avoiding added complexity regarding the main characters’ identities. But Guadagnino does not opt for this here. We see that he plays around with labels and their importance, but overall, we see the main idea being love. He shows the viewers that people love people, and in this instance, the person’s gender is largely unimportant. What matters most to him is that the two people understand and love one another.
This series deals with so many complex themes and does so with attention and care. It’s filmed beautifully and has so many interesting details about it. The characters are complex and intriguing, with various relationship dynamics at play, making the series feel more realistic. Not many people have heard of or watched this series, which is a travesty as it’s amazing and deserves much more attention.