Buco, Il (2021) review

A team of speleologists drive from Turin to Calabria to explore (and map out) the Bifurto Abyss, one of the deepest caves in the world; while this is taking place, the lone shepherd there suddenly becomes ill and dies.  The images of both the countryside and the terrifying depths of the cave itself are spectacular (the cinematography is by Renato Berta) - as if we needed a reminder as to how beautiful Italy is - but it took until the last few title cards explaining the expedition that I had any real sense of what was happening, which is a little alienating.  Frammartino's decision to keep it free of dialogue (with the exception of a black and white news broadcast about the newly-constructed Pirelli Tower in Milan) is puzzling - in interviews, he uses a lot of 'artistspeak' to explain it away - but unlike the masterful and poetic Le Quattro Volte, I don't think this is as fully realized a project.  Does he truly believe that the act of discovering new things "desecrates" them?  Should we just stop digging deep or trying to ascend higher?