They Call Me Jeeg

Enzo Ceccotti is a small-time thief in Rome who, while fleeing the police, ends up in the Tiber and comes into contact with radioactive material. He emerges with superhuman strength and a body that heals itself, and he initially puts these abilities to use for his own criminal benefit rather than for anyone else. His outlook is solitary and misanthropic, and he treats the powers as a windfall rather than a responsibility.

That changes when he meets Alessia, a fragile and mentally troubled young woman who becomes convinced that Enzo is the hero of the Japanese anime Steel Jeeg, a figure she believes has come to save the world. Her faith in him collides with the ambitions of a violent gangster known as Zingaro, who wants to control Enzo and his strength for his own ends.

The film is Gabriele Mainetti's first feature as director, and he also produced it. Claudio Santamaria plays Enzo, with Luca Marinelli as Zingaro, Ilenia Pastorelli as Alessia and Stefano Ambrogi as Sergio among a credited cast of thirty-three. Made for about two million dollars, it took roughly six million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from twelve critics, while on TMDB it holds 7.4/10 from over two thousand six hundred votes, a gap suggesting general viewers responded more warmly than reviewers did. Mainetti went on to direct Freaks Out and The Forbidden City.