They Call Me Jeeg Robot

I love Italian movies and series because mostly are high quality products. Here we have a little pretty anti hero gem called Jeeg Robot. First, the acting is quite good. Pretty raw and credible. Some familiar faces from Gomorrah. Second, the cinematography and the FX's are pretty good. Not excessive CGI used. And last, the script was quite good. Some not predictable turns. So, overall a great little great gem again coming from Italy.

Enzo (Claudio Santamaria) is a small-town crook in Rome, stealing purses and taking on small jobs with other crooks just to get by; after one such incident, he finds himself being chased by the cops and the only way to escape them is to jump into the Tiber River. Unfortunately for him, the place where he jumps conceals a number of barrels containing toxic waste, and one of them has been leaking. He suddenly finds himself with superpowers, and uses them to steal for himself until one day he meets Alessia (Ilenia Pastorelli), a young woman lost in a fantasy world featuring the Japanese anime Steel Jeeg. She convinces him to use his powers for good, but she doesn't know that a super-villain, Fabio (Luca Marinelli), wants to subvert Enzo for his own ends…. This film is a hoot, a shout-out to Italy's 1970s love affair with the (real) "Steel Jeeg" anime from Japan, and a gritty tale from the dark belly of the big city all at the same time, and all done with exquisite Italian flare. (Fabio, for example, has a fabulous dress sense and has a small-time claim to fame as a one-time contestant on a TV talent show, which everyone mistakes for the Italian version of "Big Brother.") There's lots of action, of course, but also a quieter story of how Enzo gains superpowers which lead to him gaining his soul. This movie won a bunch of Italian film awards, and it's easy to see why - it's by turns charming, brutal, thrilling and tender. Anyone familiar with the genre will know from the beginning how it will end, but the journey itself is a terrific ride, and lots of fun!

Well, one year after his release I finally watch "They Call Me Jeeg". I had great expectations for this movie, and most of it was met. This movie tell the story of a "superhero" produced in Italy and directed and interpreted by Italian director and actors,who have become accustomed to the usual "cine-panettoni", I can call it a "small masterpiece". Of course, it is not perfect, in fact in some points the acting (in some cases), the accuracy of certain details, the characterization of some characters and the audio of the movie(although, all in all, in a few moments). Finally, after seeing 1173 movies in my life, I think I can say that this movie deserves a lot, considering also Gabriele Mainetti's still not have many experiences as a director. So I suggest to all those who have lost it to dedicate 1: 52h of their time. Thanks for reading and regards from Sombrero.

In the attempt of hiding from the police, Enzo Ceccotti, a small street criminal, jumps in the very polluted river Tevere; a few days after he'll discover to have acquired extraordinary powers.

I'm sure that it will not be easy to fully comprehend the beauty of this movie if you don't understand the complexity of the contemporary Italy. This movie depicts perfectly a country full of contradictions: a breath-taking city envied all over the world that hides a degraded outskirt deep inside; a generation of children stuck in their grown ups bodies with their vanilla puddings and their Japanese anime on local TV channels; a criminal class that fluctuates from the ridiculousness to the ruthlessness to whom money has the same importance than popularity and Youtube visualization numbers; and a criminal with no emotional bonds, values or reasons to do good (that would not inspire empathy in any other superhero movies), is saved from an unexpected "damsel in distress" and becomes the hero of a community that often looks hopeless to those who live here every day but that sometimes, unexpectedly, finds its superpowers in the common people, the real heroes of this crazy, misunderstood country.

Go with it! Actually run with it would be better. And the filmmaker of this one did exactly that. It's always about the money, although you couldn't tell the budget for this one, because the mind goes a long way. And they really though of something that while it may not be unique, it very much feels like it is. And that alone is worth more than a really big budget.

So if you are open minded and like weird Indie movies, you will have the time of your life with this one. It's our anti-hero who's carrying this, but also the female lead who's helping a lot (maybe not always literally but you get the point). It may feel creepy or wrong at times, but that just goes to show you, that the movie is rough on the edges. And it's refreshing that it doesn't seem to mind about correctness one way or another. One of the best Fantasy movies in the last couple of years - and who said Italy couldn't do any Genre movies anymore?