Copperman (film)

Lore & Background

The film's plot centers on Anselmo, a mentally disabled man who grew up believing his father had abandoned his family to fight the evil injustices of the world. As he grows up, he decides to emulate his father by becoming a superhero. The cast includes Luca Argentero as Anselmo / Copperman, Antonia Truppo as Titti, Galatea Ranzi as Gianna, Gianluca Gobbi as Ernesto, Tommaso Ragno as Silvano il fabbro, Massimo Poggio as Giovanni, and Paolo Romano as Mario.

Reader's Guide

Copperman was shot in Spoleto between July and September 2018 and theatrically released in Italy by Notorious Pictures on 7 February 2019. Critical reception was mixed: La Repubblica critic Roberto Nepoti praised Puglielli's touch, noting the film retains a fairy-tale tone in tune with Anselmo's worldview, and called it 'gentle and in its own way courageous.' Simone Emiliani from Sentieri selvaggi described it as a mix of genres, 'full of interesting suggestions and insights' but 'uneven,' with the two main actors appearing 'at times lost in dealing with continually shifting registers.' The film represents an Italian entry in the superhero genre, blending drama with a fairy-tale sensibility.

Did You Know?

• Luca Argentero plays the dual role of Anselmo and his superhero alter ego Copperman.
• Critic Simone Emiliani described the film as a mix of genres that is 'full of interesting suggestions and insights' but 'uneven.'

Narrative Heart: A Hero Born from Belief

The emotional core of Copperman lies in its deeply personal reimagining of the superhero genre. Rather than following a physically gifted or technologically augmented champion, the film places Anselmo at its center—a young man with a mental disability who has constructed his entire sense of self around one formative conviction: that his father departed the family not out of indifference, but to wage a heroic war against the world's injustices. That childhood belief becomes the driving force of his adult existence. As he grows into manhood, Anselmo resolves to walk the same path, choosing to become a superhero in his father's image. The narrative thus reframes the superhero archetype through vulnerability, imagination, and emotional longing rather than raw power or spectacle. The story operates on an intimate register, treating the protagonist's inner landscape with sincerity and allowing his particular perception of reality to shape every emotional beat of the film.

An Ensemble Around a Singular Vision

The cast of Copperman is led by Luca Argentero, who shoulders the dual role of Anselmo and his superhero alter ego, Copperman. His performance carries the weight of a character whose entire worldview is built upon a single, formative belief about the father who left. Supporting him, Antonia Truppo brings the character of Titti to life, while Galatea Ranzi plays Gianna and Gianluca Gobbi appears as Ernesto, each adding texture to the community that surrounds Anselmo's extraordinary journey. The ensemble is further rounded out by Tommaso Ragno as Silvano il fabbro, the local blacksmith, alongside Massimo Poggio as Giovanni and Paolo Romano as Mario. Together, these performers paint a portrait of a small, grounded world in which Anselmo's heroic aspirations unfold. The breadth of the supporting cast suggests a story that is as much about the people who witness and respond to Anselmo's choices as it is about his internal drive to emulate a father he never saw in action.

From Spoleto to the Italian Screens

Copperman was helmed by director Eros Puglielli and produced as a 2019 Italian superhero drama. Principal photography was carried out in the historic town of Spoleto, with filming stretching across a three-month window from July through September 2018. The decision to shoot in Spoleto lends the production a distinctly Italian, small-town texture that complements the intimate, fairy-tale quality of its storytelling. Following the conclusion of its production period, the film found its way to Italian theatrical audiences through Notorious Pictures, which handled the distribution with a release date of 7 February 2019. The choice of Notorious Pictures as the distributing partner positioned the film firmly within the Italian independent cinema landscape, signaling a project that prioritized artistic vision and emotional sincerity over mainstream blockbuster appeal. The roughly five-month interval between the final day of shooting and the theatrical debut afforded the post-production team time for editing and the careful final shaping of a film that blends superhero mythology with the sensibilities of Italian dramatic storytelling.

A Divided but Respectful Critical Response

Copperman attracted a range of critical reactions that underscore its ambitious genre-blending ambitions. Roberto Nepoti of La Repubblica offered a notably warm assessment, singling out director Puglielli's skill in sustaining a fairy-tale tonality that mirrors Anselmo's own perspective on the world across the film's entire runtime. Nepoti described the picture as both gentle and, in its own particular way, courageous—a compliment that acknowledges the creative risk of treating a superhero premise with such emotional softness. On the other side, Simone Emiliani writing for Sentieri Selvaggi recognized the film as a genre hybrid brimming with interesting suggestions and insights, yet judged its execution uneven. Emiliani observed that the two principal actors at times appeared uncertain when navigating the film's continually shifting tonal registers, implying that the balance between its fairy-tale warmth and its more grounded dramatic moments was not always seamless. Taken together, these reviews sketch a film that critics found genuinely imaginative but structurally challenging to sustain.