Islands of Fire

1/22/2025

You know, I could swear I've seen some of the footage from this documentary used in a peplum-style drama depicting volcanic disaster in the Mediterranean. Can't think where though. Anyway, what Vittoria De Seta has assembled here are eleven minutes of time-capsule film making. A small community of farmers and fishermen take delivery of essential supplies from a passing freighter then start to batten down the hatches as the sea becomes angrier, the skies darken and the nearby volcano starts to emanate some menacing rumbling. Taking shelter in their homes, we now see something of the violent eruptions that hit this island late in 1954 intercut with images of the island's young children obliviously sleeping through the whole thing. Next morning. The sun is out, the danger passed for the momen