Marcello Zappatore is a 30 something guitarist in a Satanist heavy metal band. His mother is a devout Catholic who prays for him daily. Tensions within both his family and his band are exacerbated by Marcello’s sudden development of stigmata and his apparent status as one of God’s chosen prophets. Now he’s on the news, kicked out of the band for ruining their image, and surrounded by corrupt priests and sycophants out for a quick buck. His attempts to continue with music don’t work out. All he wants to do is play rock and roll. He gets stuck between a rock (and roll) and a hard place. The glory of the stage or the glory of God?

Occasionally drawing on Italy’s rich history of horror movies (notably an Exorcism/purification scene), and exploring the clash between conservative Catholicism and the excesses of heavy metal, the result is a strange beast. It never really explores why Zappatore develops the stigmata, but what it does examine are themes such as the corruption within the Church, young vs old, freedom vs safety. The movie does explore these themes pretty well, but much more could be done. If anything, it tries to examine too many things, and ultimately doesn’t examine them enough. There’s some great stuff here, but it would have benefitted from some more time in the editing room. It tries to be everything, a social commentary, a music commentary, a family drama, a commentary on the Catholic church, but something has to give.

Ambitious, but flawed. If you’re a fan of metal there’s some great music in here, with some great performances, especially Sandra Milo as an elderly eccentric and Cuia Jello as the bigoted mother. Recommended for metal fans. Part of the ICFF 2013 lineup.