Sacro GRA

This portrait of the Grande Raccordo Anulare, the ring road that is to Rome what the M25 is to London, was the first documentary to win the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice film festival. Given this garlanded reputation, Gianfranco Rosi's film is a surprisingly modest affair, content to flit around between various local characters and capture their daily lot. Luckily, they're a fascinating bunch, from the faded aristo hiring out his mansion for a photo-novel shoot, to the prostitutes living in their car, a hard-working yet lonely paramedic, and a researcher investigating the weevils destroying the palm tree population. Perhaps the rapacious beetles are intended as a wider ecological metaphor for mankind, but mostly Rosi's agenda-free approach affords his subjects heart-warming dignity without telling us how to judge them. Perhaps that makes it too low-key for some viewers, but those who like to discover a film for themselves will find this a rewarding, reflective experience.