Director Frida Kempff and actress Cecilia Milocco unite again after working on Dear Kid, a short film with similar themes to this slow-burn psychological thriller. In Knocking, Milocco gives an intimate performance of Molly, a woman living with mental illness in the wake of tragedy.
Flashbacks reveal pieces of an event that led Molly to stay in a psychiatric hospital. The film picks up with her in a seemingly positive place, with a good prognosis from her doctors. She rejoins the rest of society, moving into a new apartment on her own and attempting to return to things she used to do in her old life.
She may have been able to move on and live a relatively happy life, but she quickly becomes preoccupied with a persistent knocking sound on her ceiling. She is gently curious at first but gradually becomes more convinced that someone in a domestic abuse situation is trying to call for help. When no one else in her apartment complex nor the police department believes her, Molly has to confront the possibility that she’s imagining things. She must then decide if she will dare to trust her own mind.
Knocking also dares the viewer to believe Molly. The knocking acts as a trigger for her, catapulting her into a world where she no longer trusts her senses. Viewers can see instances where she is obviously not seeing clearly, but it isn’t clear whether her visions are the result of others not believing in her or vice versa. The camera often concentrates solely on Molly even when she interacts with others, emphasizing the focal nature of her character to the film and stressing what it feels like to be the negative center of attention. It gradually becomes clear that no matter the source of the knocking, what truly matters to Molly is being heard. When no one hears the knocking, then, no one hears her.
Knocking is a peculiar sort of genre that blends together social horror and horror of the mind. It’s a difficult vision to pull off. While excelling at the psychological aspect, it completely lacks suspense, trudging along at a consistently slow pace. A strong optional purchase for foreign language shelves.