Director Damiano Damiani remains underrated in comparison to many of his contemporaries. While the focus on Italian cinema of the 1970s sees the majority focus on Giallo horror, Damiani worked primarily within the crime genre making intelligent neo-noir films which reflected the frighteningly wide impact of the mob on everyday people. Radiance Films already released a Cosa Nostra boxset of three Damiani films which starred Franco Nero and focuses on corruption in Italy's legal system. Now, they have restored and released another overlooked Damiani crime thriller.
In the case of A Man on His Knees, the character impacted by the mob is Nino. Played by Giuliano Gemma (also seen in Ben Hur and Dario Argento's Tenebrae, among others), Nino is an ex-convict and a family man struggling to keep his family out of debt as he is having to pay his rent on both his home and his business stall alongside doctor's fees for his sick daughter. It is revealed, very quickly, that Nino has been wrongfully associated with a plot to kidnap a rich woman. Because of this, he is placed on an assassin's list and must evade professional killers.
From the film's opening shot — a classically Italian lengthy zoom onto Nino in the middle of a crowd — A Man on His Knees is drenched in paranoia. Utilising its mysterious plot to show how a man trying to go straight cannot escape the reaches of Italy's criminal landscape, Damiani directs an intelligent script with poise.
Most striking is the film's main antagonist, a mysterious killer whose real name we never seem to know. Using fake names and often acting as though he knows nothing of killing, he is unpredictable and unsettling. He is manipulative, intelligent and ruthless, played to perfection by Michele Placido. He is a perfect counter to Nino, who is driven by principles and a want to protect himself and his family. Our unnamed hitman seems only to want to worm his way to surviving within the mob, abandoning his morals and manipulating Nino to get to him. The film thrives whenever the two men share the screen, and their shifting dynamic is excellent. The film can feel a little unfocused at times, but the quality of the characters holds it together.
In Damiani's world, nobody can be trusted. The film invokes an almost constant dread because it feels as though Nino has fallen into the middle of a truly massive conspiracy. Dead bodies appear often, mercilessly slaughtered. The violence on screen is frighteningly methodical and unsentimental, and the descriptions of off-screen deaths are equally unnerving. Creepiest of all, though, is the assassin's theme song; a child-like xylophone riff that chills the spine.
A Man on His Knees is another intelligent and distinctive Italian neo-noir released by Radiance. Radiance's curation remains consistently exciting, and their restorative work is top quality. Their eye for Italian crime films, in particular, never disappoints. Fans of icy, witty political thrillers will find much of value in A Man on His Knees, another very strong film by Damiano Damiani about widespread Italian crime, corruption and collateral damage.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K restoration from the original negative
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Archival interviews with stars Giuliano Gemma, Tano Cimarosa and assistant director Mino Giarda
- New interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Regia Damiano Damiani
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
- Booklet featuring new writing by Roberto Curti
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
A Man On His Knees will be released by Radiance Films on 23rd September
