Now available from Radiance Films
A man living a quiet life soon finds himself mixed in with a kidnapping needing to prove his innocence and protect his family.
Written by Nicola Badalucco and Damiano Damiani from a story by Damiani and directed by Damiani, A Man on His Knees is a film that deserves to be seen. It takes the usual mafia story, gives it a few twists, and brings it all to the screen beautifully. The writing here is careful and calculated creating characters that are complex and human and bringing them into a situation that seems impossible to get out of. The despair the story creates is palpable in some scenes, giving great credit to the writers but also to the director. This is a film that shows that tight writing and a talented hand behind the camera can bring a story we’ve seen so many times take new turns and become a fascinating film.
The cast here is solid. While some will see the performances as a bit dated, they are very much on point for 1979 in an Italian film. The performances here are great and they really bring life to the characters. One particularly strong performance here is that of Giuliano Gemma as Nino Peralta the titular man on his knees, who brings his character to life with all the emotions needed for the situation, sadness, anger, frustration, despair, he brings it all to the screen just right. Playing his wife, Lucia Peralta, is Eleonora Giorgi who is fantastic to watch. She brings worry and sadness to the screen in a way not often seen, pulling the viewer in her feelings with her, making them feel her pain and anguish. The rest of the cast is also quite good, all of them working very well with their parts and together, but Gemma and Giorgi are stunning in their parts.
The cinematography by Ennio Guarnieri (and team) and the editing by Enzo Meniconi create images and moods here. The images are well-shot and well-framed with great lighting for most of them, with a few odd choices here and there. The film brings these images together in a way that helps create a sort of stress or worry along with what the characters are living through.
A Man on His Knees is a film that should appeal to fans of mafia story and those who love a good drama thriller. There is a lot of tension here and the cast does really well showing their emotions from stress to worry to anger, there is a lot to pay attention to here and the way it is all brought to the screen is fantastic.
This new release from Radiance Films is solid as usual with a good to great new 4k restoration that looks as good as expected for a film of this age. The sound here is in mono PCM which is likely exactly as originally intended by the filmmaker in the late 1970s. The extras are numerous but what is there is solid. The archival interviews with Giuliano Gemma, Tano Cimarosa, and Mino Giarda are great to check out. The new interview with Alberto Pezzotta, a Damiani specialist, is interesting.