Pompei: Below the Clouds

Profile — With lots of reverence and little romanticism, director Gianfranco Rosi delivers an unprecedented portrait of Naples

The soil, air, and sea beneath Mount Vesuvius is steeped in memories that recount the catastrophic 79 AD eruption which interred the prosperous Roman city of Pompeii and its populace. Contemporary life in this region absorbs both this impression and the enduring threat of history’s repetition, yet, isn’t overcome by a nostalgia that confines it. Like ev…