Powder (film)

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Powder
Directed by	Victor Salva
Produced by	Roger Birnbaum, Daniel Grodnik
Written by	Victor Salva
Starring	Sean Patrick Flanery, Jeff Goldblum, Mary Steenburgen, Lance Henriksen, Bradford Tatum
Distributed by	Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures
Release date(s)	October 27, 1995
Running time	111 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Powder is a 1995 film directed by Victor Salva, about an albino boy, nicknamed "Powder", with paranormal powers over electricity. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery in the title role, with Jeff Goldblum, Mary Steenburgen, Bradford Tatum, and Lance Henriksen in supporting roles. The film questions the limits of the human mind and body while also displaying their capacity for cruelty, and the hope that one day humanity will advance beyond technology.

1 Plot summary
2 Controversy
3 Remake
4 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Powder's mother gets struck by a lightning bolt while pregnant. She dies and Powder grows up with his grandparents. When Powder's grandfather dies after a heart attack, child care representatives take Powder to an orphanage, where he quickly finds himself thrown into many painful circumstances and obstacles. He is taken to high school and encounters physics teacher Donald Ripley (Goldblum) who finds out that Powder has supernatural powers. While his abilities mark him as special, however, they also make him an outcast.

Since its release it has grossed approximately $31 million worldwide.

[edit] Controversy

Shortly after the film's release, a media frenzy erupted when it was revealed that director Salva had been convicted of molesting a 12-year-old boy who had acted in his earlier film Clownhouse, with some people (including Salva's victim) calling for a boycott. Nonetheless, the film proved successful, and was the second highest grossing film in America for two weeks.