Damiano Damiani captured the reality of the Mafia life in Italy in numerous films. While other directors might have made crime movies, often they stuck to the safety of a movie studio backlot. Damiani went to the heart of the Mafia by shooting in Sicily, the home of the Cosa Nostra. This is a harsh and dangerous island where people who displease the local crime chieftains vanish or just get shot in the streets. Radiance had already given us Cosa Nostra – Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales that had three stories about the organized crime syndicate directed by Damiani. A Man On His Knees returns Damiani to Palermo, Sicily with a man who goes straight only to find himself in the crosshairs of a mobster hitman.
Nino Peralta (A Pistol For Ringo‘s Giuliano Gemma) is doing his best to avoid the criminal life after getting out of prison. He was one of the best car thieves in Sicily. When he was busted by the cops, they didn’t find his stolen loot. His wife and children suffered for a bit, but after his release he used the hidden cash to buy a coffee kiosk next to a busy street. He’s able to provide his family a better life. But this all comes crashing down one morning when his pal Colicchia (Cinema Paradiso‘s Tano Cimarosa) swears a mobster hitman is looking for Nino. What could he have done to upset any of the crime families? He tracks down a few low-level connections to see if his past crimes haven’t come back to haunt him. When the cops visit his neighborhood, they check out a warehouse across the street. Nino is brought over to identify a murdered body. He also sees a storage unit where a kidnapped person was kept. Nino had no clue about the kidnapping when he brought coffee over to the warehouse over the last month. Colicchia gives him the news that the hitmen have been hired as revenge for the kidnapping. Nino is one of the people that have contracts on their heads. He uses the potential hitman (The Pyjama Girl Case‘s Michele Placido) as a way to communicate to those who want him dead. He’s willing to go to any extreme to not vanish from his family again. But will there be any hope in this violent city for Nino to survive?
A Man On His Knees is an exceptional mobster film for so many reasons. The first is avoiding the cliche of Nino being a criminal who is drawn back into a life of crime by a “Godfather” for one last heist. The mobsters don’t want him back. They just want him dead. The hits of the other people on the list shows how efficient the hitmen are in completing the contracts. The clock is ticking for Nino as he scrambles around Palermo. Getting to see this mysterious and dangerous city is another reason to watch. Eleonora Giorgi (Dario Argento’s Inferno) emotionally gets into the wife who suffered while her husband was behind bars and now fears being potential widow. Michele Placido complicates his hitman so it’s not just another cold-blooded guy with a gun. Tano Cimarosa is perfectly cast as Nino’s friend. This is my favorite Giuliano Gemma performance. Whether being a caring dad or descending into the underworld of Palermo, Gemma is magnetic on the screen as he hustles to stay alive. We get an overwhelming sense of how dangerous Palermo can be as no one appears safe on the streets. A Man On His Knees is the best introduction to the work of Damiano Damiani.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer is taken off a 4K restoration of the original camera negative. You’ll get the details of life in Palermo. The Audio is Italian LPCM mono. The mix lets you hear what’s lurking in the dangerous neighborhoods. The movie is subtitled in English.
Alberto Pezzotta (23:44) is an interview of the author of Regia Damiano Damiani. He gets into the time when the director made A Man On His Knees. He discusses how the rise of television in the ’80s shrunk the Italian cinema as audiences stayed home. This led to genre directors having issues getting budgets. This was one of Damaini’s last big films in Italy along with The Warning. The director did get an American film when he made Amityville II: The Possession for Dino De Laurentiis.
Giuliano Gemma (8:45) recalls being happy to make a third mafia film with Damiani. He actually learned how to make drinks at the stand and has a great story about an unsuspecting customer. There’s another great tale about how a garbage collector watching the filming found himself in a major role. Gemma passed away in 2013.
Tano Cimarosa (8:59) has the actor get a drink at a cafe and talk about his life. His dad was a puppeteer. While he worked other jobs he always acted and directed. Tano gets into his relationship with Damiani that led to him appearing in seven movies. The director let him improvise and change the script. He recounts working all over the world yet never America. He did make it to Canada.
Mino Giarada (20:41) has the assistant director recount working with Damiani. He was a lawyer when he got involved in cinema. He later returned to law. When he met Damiani in Rome, the director wanted him to work on his films. He taught him a lot about filmmaking as they worked together for 10 years. We get a sense of the dangers of shooting in Sicily.
Trailer (3:15) lets us know that this is about a man willing to do anything to keep his family safe from the Mafia.
Booklet includes an essay by Roberto Curti.
Radiance Films present A Man On His Knees. Directed by Damiano Damiani. Screenplay by Nicola Badalucco & Damiano Damiani. Starring Giuliano Gemma, Eleonora Giorgi, Michele Placido, Tano Cimarosa, Ettore Manni, Luciano Catenacci, Nello Pazzafini, Fabrizio Forte & Nazzareno Zamperla. Running Time: 110 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 24, 2024.
