Why we picked it – Michelangelo Frammartino’s (how can you possibly fail with a name like that?) last film Quattro Volte was much enjoyed. Here is his second feature.

Synopsis – The film recreates a 1961 expedition of the Piedmont Speleological Group who, having explored all the caves of Northern Italy, went South to explore a vertical 700 meter cave system in Calabria (the deepest in Italy). The Italian title il buco translates as the hole. The story of the cave exploration is contrasted with the life of a local shepherd whose health is failing.

The film – We showed Quattro Volte 11 years ago. This is Frammartino’s first film since then – he clearly doesn’t like to rush things – it is in the same style: commentary free, dialogue light, gently meandering. After the initial sequence on the high-rise building (the highest building in Italy is contrasted with the deepest cave) there are no more sub-titles. The dialogue continues in Italian but you do not need to understand it to follow the film. It feels like a contemporary documentary until you realise the quality of the film is too good, but it is not a narrative feature either. In the interview linked below Frammartino talks about the themes of the known and the unknown, the visible and the invisible that lie behind the film and his approach to storytelling.

Director/writer: Michelangelo Frammartino, Co-writer: Giovanna Guilani, Cinematography: Renato Berta, Italy, 2021, 93 mins, U

Links: imdb Guardian review Little White Lies review New York Times review