They Call Me Jeeg (2015)

Enzo, a lonely and misanthropic small time crook, uses the superpowers gained after falling in the Tiber river to chase down a crazy gangster called "The gypsy".

Director:

Gabriele Mainetti

Writers:

Nicola Guaglianone (story), Nicola Guaglianone (screenplay)

Stars:

Claudio Santamaria, Luca Marinelli, Ilenia Pastorelli

17 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claudio Santamaria	...	Enzo Ceccotti
Luca Marinelli	...	Zingaro
Ilenia Pastorelli	...	Alessia
Stefano Ambrogi	...	Sergio
Maurizio Tesei	...	Biondo
Francesco Formichetti	...	Sperma
Daniele Trombetti	...	Tazzina
Joel Sy	...	Claudietto
Gianluca Di Gennaro	...	Antonio
Salvatore Esposito	...	Vincenzo
Antonia Truppo	...	Nunzia
Juana Jimenez	...	Marcellone
Tommaso Di Carlo	...	Efeso
Giampaolo Crescenzio	...	Pinocchio
Tamken Abdulaziz	...	Corriere #1

Storyline

The film is a strange and anti-hero transposition of a very popular animated manga cartoon in the 80's called Steel Jeeg. Here, a young outlaw (Enzo) is somehow affected by radioactive waste in the Tiber waters in Rome. He subsequently finds out he has gained super powers and interprets them as a reward for never having managed to enter the criminal world that counts. The inside joke reveals itself when Enzo meets Alessia, who believes the charming hero is the personification of the hero in the cartoon she used to watch.

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Plot Keywords:

radioactive waste | insane woman | reference to steel jeeg | super villain | superhero | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in the film, Enzo is asked if he was bitten by a bat in order to become a superhero. Claudio Santamaria (Enzo) previously served as the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman for the Italian dubbing of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy and also for The Lego Movie's Batman. Also, the off-screen voice heard from a TV reporter in the closing sequence, was provided by Adriano Giannini who dubbed the Joker in the same series of movies.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Connections

Referenced in OffStage - Interviste dal Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia: Episode #1.4 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Non sono una signora
Written by Ivano Fossati
Written by Ivano Fossati
Sung by Stefania Caracciolo
Keyboard: Fabrizio Cesare
Guitar: Alfredo Bochicchio
Saxophone: Angelo Trane
Bass: Pierpaolo Ranieri
Drums: Luca Trolli
Courtesy of FM record Music
Original song courtesy of Warner Chappell Music Italiana/Sugarmusic

User Reviews

My 3rd Italian film, my 3rd hit. Not your conventional Hollywood type hero, but better.

Oh my, just when I thought I see it all, another hidden gem surprises me. This movie has everything, and even when I think I will never see a more controversial relationship between two main characters since "Leon, The Professional", Enzo and Alessia appear. A weird movie, with a rare plot, but I need to say that better than a lot of American superheros movies that saturate the cinematography year by year these days. Just hope this will not be just a one hit wonder and the director continue these franchise because they could have a future if they make the right moves. A sad story, with a non-conventional approach, for be "a superhero movie", but that is well executed and will take a place between my favorite films outside of Hollywood. Great work!!!!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Italy] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

25 February 2016 (Italy)

Also Known As:

They Call Me Jeeg Robot

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,700,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,973,344

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goon Films, Rai Cinema, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo (MiBACT)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1