Below the Clouds

Gianfranco Rosi has won two of cinema’s most prestigious awards — Berlin’s Golden Bear for Fire at Sea and Venice’s Golden Lion for Sacro GRA — a dual achievement unmatched by any other non-fiction filmmaker. He earned that esteem by taking an observant approach into different environments including the island of Lampedusa for Fire at Sea and the ring-road highway around Rome in Sacro GRA.

Now he furthers his exploration of Italy in Below the Clouds. He embeds for three years among the populace living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The region of 3 million people remains infused with the lore of the volcano’s eruption in 79 AD that decimated the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Modernity and history live side by side. Rosi follows a wide variety of characters, including archeologists still uncovering treasures, as well as the Carabinieri who investigate tomb raiders. Rooted more firmly in the present are receptionists for an emergency hotline. We watch them respond to a wide variety of callers, both people at risk and others who seem over-anxious. Maybe a little anxiety is to be expected for these times.

Other documentarians may telegraph their points with interviews or narration. But Rosi takes a different approach, letting us linger in these moments as an invitation to let our imagination wander.

Rosi, who also serves as cinematographer, captures this world in crisp black-and-white imagery that’s stunning to behold in both majestic landscapes and close-ups of faces. This is a cinematic trip worth taking.

THOM POWERS