undercurrent

But Schneider’s normcore exterior belies an undercurrent of intensity: There’s a particular, obsessive mindset required to conceive of and execute such an ambitious public expedition every year over two decades.

While pop hits blasted from the event speakers, an undercurrent of tension hung in the air.

But there was an undercurrent of fear — not only about the result, but about what it will say about the character of the nation.

The case is still being investigated, but the riots shook the nation and reflected an undercurrent of anger that had been building for years over the way ethnic minorities are treated in France.

The sensibility is apparent in his most recent film, “Blitz,” even though it centers on the destruction of London during the German air raids of World War II, while also conveying an undercurrent of the racial strife that lingers in the U.K. today.