The Properties of Metals
November 14, 2023
In an Italian village, where the idyllic beauty of the landscape belies the toughness of life, word has it young Pietro has psychokinetic powers. A tender portrait of a young boy, and an allegory of the science of invisible forces.
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Passes: $125 | $100 SIFF Members - Access to all Cinema Italian Style screenings and the Opening Night party
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Set in an idyllic small village in the Italian mountains in the 1970s, The Properties of Metals follows Pietro (wonderful newcomer Martino Zaccara), a child raised by his surly widowed father (Antonio Buíl). While Pietro spends his days playing with other local children and his younger brother, his father attempts to unburden the family from their debts. One day Pietro begins to manifest mysterious gifts—he can bend metal simply with his mind. Soon word spreads beyond their small village, but people are divided in their belief of him. When a university professor starts visiting Pietro to study him, the experiments will lead the child towards an invisible world where the unquestionable laws of physics collide with the deepest human desires. Inspired by the 1970s televised performances of Israeli-British illusionist Uri Gellar, who appeared to bend keys and spoons with a single touch, and the phenomenon of Minigellers, children who imitated Gellar’s illusions, this is a poetic feature film debut written and directed by Antonio Bigini, in which hope and belief collide.
- Original Language Title: Le proprietà dei metalli
- Director: Antonio Bigini
- Principal Cast: Martino Zaccara, Edoardo Marcucci, David Pasquesi, Antonio Buil Pueyo
- Country: Italy
- Year: 2023
- Running Time: 93 min.
- Producer: Claudio Giapponesi
- Screenplay: Antonio Bigini
- Cinematographers: Andrea Vaccari
- Editors: Ilaria Fraioli
- Music: Simonluca Laitempergher
- Website: Official Website
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: Italian, English
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- International Sales: True Colours Glorious Films