A voice says “I’m no expert, but I feel something’s different this time,” referring to recent earthquakes in Naples. Naples is close to Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that wiped out Pompeii during the height of Ancient Rome. Centuries later, and despite the earthquakes, life goes on, as elders teach their children subjects like Italian history. Snow still falls, and seasons afterwards, rain lightly floods the cobblestone streets of the cities near the dangerous volcano. And we can make jokes about this maybe, but the trains still run in Naples regardless of the time.

Pompeii: Below the Clouds, from documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, likes to keep a respectful distance towards subjects in frame. He, for example, films through a train window, watching a woman sitting down to eat an ice cream bar. The same goes as children make their way towards the study room of a local tutor, Mr. Titti. A documentary with a large enough scope, there seems to be curatorial decisions on who gets the close-ups. Mr. Titti is one of them, an inherently interesting figure as he asks the children what they want to learn.

As this feature begins, a viewer may ask themselves, “why film Pompeii, why now, and why live there”? I find myself asking these questions until five minutes in, as Rosi connects his wide array of subject matter. Pompeii: Below the Clouds taps into an inherent human interest in archaeology and history through its shadow like images. For example, he shows a man go through an ancient villa at night, making sure that nothing is untouched. History’s erasure is inevitable, we and Rosi know this, but it’s a noble venture to guard the tides.

Ancient Rome was a cosmopolitan place and so is modern Naples, as viewers see through Pompeii: Below the Clouds.  Of course, Rosi chooses locals like Mr. Titti and his students as his human subjects, sometimes going outside that. For instance, he shows us a Japanese archaeological group or a Ukrainian ship employing Syrian refugees as workers. And just like people from the past with their letters, these workers use cellphones to communicate with loved ones. Thankfully, we get to see people, although Rosi’s forays into making a documentary full of B-roll isn’t for everyone.

Even in B-roll and coverage, Pompeii: Below the Clouds showcases Rosi’s hyper fixations towards timeless infrastructure and nature. It’s not like he’s showing flakes of snow as they fall from the sky but it’s close enough. It gives the same feeling as a train goes through its tracks at night, as if wading through the overgrowth. He tilts the camera down to show cobblestone streets glistening because of a rainy day in great Pompeii. And a bit far away, people are holding umbrellas, showing that neither rain nor quakes can hold them back. It’s also notable that this film has Rosi returning to his observational methods and somehow make them better.

Pompeii: Below the Clouds is available to watch in select Canadian theatres before making its way to MUBI. MUBI, the home of, among many things, Italian auteurs set in their ways but better, as well as-