Pompei: Below the Clouds

3/27/2026

I shouldn’t have felt misled by the title of this rather dry and repetitive documentary, but I did. Instead of getting something archaeological and historical, I found myself watching something altogether more sociological and anthropic, and I must confess I wasn’t so very interested in that. With Mount Vesuvius making it’s presence felt nearby and with the tectonics beneath them suggesting a degree of planetary indigestion, the good folks of Naples are taking to their phones to ask their remarkably stoic and patience fire and police services whether or not events from the year 79 are about to repeat themselves. Some of these callers are borderline panic-stricken, some more rational but either way they are given polite and confident assurances that all is not going to come tumbling down an

4/6/2026

Fewer cinematic experiences are more frustrating than movies that fail to live up to expectations. And, regrettably, such is the case with this latest documentary from writer-director Gianfranco Rosi. While the title and billing for this release lead one to believe that it’s a film about the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and the volcanic catastrophe that destroyed it, there’s surprisingly little in this title addressing those subjects squarely on point. Rather, it’s more of a minimalist cinematic essay that would be more aptly titled “A Day in the Life of Naples” (the metropolis neighboring the destroyed city), with end times underpinnings whose elements frequently go underexplained. Admittedly, “Below the Clouds” makes an effort (albeit somewhat underwhelmingly) to address the looming thr