I know this is cliche but every frame is truly a painting. The subject matter is also engrossing. Great film!

Long awaited documentary for me to se and I could not find it until four years after it's release. Italian island of Lampedusa is a small place where everyone works within the fishing business. Sure, they have some troubles with unfriendly waters at times and the usual middle life issues. The biggest problem here are all the refugees. They come in by boats. Many of them already dead, most of them really sick. Hundreds in every boat and there are plenty of boats. People from this area seem to get many of these boats and they are trying to help. It cost them a lot, both physically and money-wise. A pretty tough documentary that shows us the extreme reality of people leaving they're country as they have not other choice. They gamble and many fail. People want to help, but it's not easy. There's too many refugees and so much work. This film is concentrating on a Lampedusa family for most of the playtime, especially on a young boy with some eye issues. It shift's nicely between subjects, and it's in total a very important, solid watch. 8 out of 10 sling shots.

wow this one was a yawner as there was so much irrelevant material that was added. It is a tragic tale of all the immigrants that die making the trek and there should have been more focus on this part of the story.

Just dull. No story thread, a snails pace, and nothing to say about a complex topic

ONLY WISH I DISCOVERED I COULD WATCH THIS AT DOUBLE SPEED ALL TOO LATE IN THE MOVIE... STORY TOLD BUT A TRIAL OF PATIENCE. Tragedy appreciated.

There wasn’t a single fire in this movie at all. The sea was present, but there was certainly no fire on the sea. To make up for it there is a pretty cool kid with a lazy eye that is a “passionate” sling shot maker who gets sea sick despite being from a family of sailing fisherman. That kid is awesome.

This was the dumbest movie I have ever watched. I watched the whole thing waiting for there to be a break out moment or foe there go be. Connection with the different groups the movie was about but there be ed was one. And then the movie just ends.

3/25/17 Netflix More like a day in the life of an average Lampedusan than a story of the refugee crisis near, around and in Lampedusa. Found it to be mildly interesting but nowhere as powerful about the refugee situation as Cries From Syria.

Too mellow for this subject.

The director captures a sobering albeit methodical look at the horrid refugee crisis on a small island between Sicily and Tunisia. No angle is given and concentration is on telling the story. You are left to decide from what is given.

An important & relevant documentary about not only the immigrant issue on the shores of Italy but the impact on the communities also. A beautiful blend of the locals perspective & those who are desperate of a new life in Europe. Their conditions of travel from Africa/Middle East is shocking to say the least. Challenging content but incredible relevant with the current situation in the US & Europe. Terrific interviews with locals also who truly add that needed dimension to this documentary.

Uno sguardo crudo e imparziale verso ciò che sta accadendo nei nostri mari. Per la maggior parte della durata del film viene raccontata la cultura e la vita quotidiana degli abitanti di Lampedusa e la questione migranti rappresenta solo una parte del progetto. La grande cura per la fotografia e la ripresa rende superfluo qualunque tipo di dialogo o di narrazione, visto che le potenti immagini parlano da sole. Alla fine del film si ha la percezione di aver visto una realtà senza tempo e senza spazio, in cui congetture collegate con situazioni socio-politiche europee sarebbero totalmente fuori luogo.

Multi-layered Mediterranean Sea tale. This documentary film is not in detail like any normal documentary does, to highlight the rights and wrongs. Actually, it speaks less and reveals more through its pictures. So anybody can make their own narration watching this film. The filmmakers left that part empty for you the viewers to decide. But my advice for you if you want to try this, that don't expect it to be about the 'immigration' alone. This film was multi-layered. There are many angles of focus about different topics, but kind of all are connected which is the Mediterranean Sea. So the common thing in the film is the Sea that divides the two continents, Europe and Africa. This film sets around that region about the people who depended on it for the living, growing up and looking for the fresh life start. But the majority of those who saw it recognise only the refugees who cross the sea. That's wrong to label this film is about the refugees. Around 20-25 per cent of the film concentrated on that issue. Only about their struggle on their journey to the other side, but it reveals nothing on its root cause. If you ask me, I would say only one religion making all this mess in the middle-east, otherwise you won't see the western army in that region. Some of the clips, the real ones are really disturbing. I won't blame those people who took such risk to get the other side of the sea. Believe me, I'm not a nationalist, so I won't believe in borders and regions that divided over language and ethnicity base. But I do mind the religious. If that was eradicated from the earth's surface, particularly one that's causing all the trouble immediately, we can co-exist peacefully. That's the major issue here, but we're after temporary solution. The film does not say all this, but you will get the clear picture. "The ships fired rockets and at sea. It was like there was fire at sea." For me this was an average film. I have seen the much better documentaries than this on various issues of the world. The filmmakers don't want to take sides, so they only revealed the truth by just following and making videos of life in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Like I meantioned earlier, some of the angles do not make any sense or difficult to understand its purpose. I don't know the others, but I have got plenty of questions about the film to ask the filmmakers. If you are like me, welcome aboard. It was the Italian entry for the 2017 Oscars and it did not make, but found a slot in the list of Best Documentary Feature. This is the first out of five from that category I have seen, so I don't know whether it wins the award or not, but as per the prediction made by film fanatics and critics, this is the frontrunner. Whatever the result would be, I'm not recommending it particularly the common people. Because the film fails to narrate the story which is very essential from the average peoples' perspective to get the message clear and loud. All one can get with this is only the outline on the very important issue at the moment. Remember how the David Attenborough's narration made to reach all the corners of the earth. Confusing over the purpose of the documentary, possibly misleading. Its like watching a news channel on the mute mode. Otherwise, this should have been one of the best of its kind. 5/10

An impressively edited film of three different situations that all have Fire at Sea as an element. Very well done. CDW

I fast forwarded through many parts and didn't miss anything. The Oscar shorts did a much better job of explaining refugee crisis. Check out 4.1 Miles.

Makes no statements and solves no problems, merely a "day in the life" look at a small Italian island that handles hundreds of thousands of refugees (from Africa and the Middle East). Also, fuck you Trump.

Lacking in vision, Fire at Sea fails miserably in relating the poignant and relevant stories of the migrants

An interesting, and really well photographed documentary about the European refugee crisis... a bit slow at times but certainly informative.

http://cinephilecrocodile.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/fire-at-sea-fuocoammare-dir-gianfranco.html

"Winner of the Golden Bear at this year's Berlinale, Gianfranco Rosi's documentary observes Europe's refugee crisis from Lampedusa, a Mediterranean island where hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty have landed in recent decades. Rosi chronicles the harrowing work of rescue operations alongside the daily rhythms of the island's locals... Read full review at: http://www.filmatique.com/nyc-dispatch/2016/10/19/fuocoammare-lands-in-nyc