Fire of Love
Katia and Maurice Krafft loved two things — each other, and volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple were seduced by the thrill and danger of this elemental love triangle. They roamed the planet, chasing eruptions and their aftermath, documenting their discoveries in stunning photographs and breathtaking film to share with an increasingly curious public in media appearances and lecture tours. Ultimately, Katia and Maurice would lose their lives during a 1991 volcanic explosion on Japan’s Mount Unzen, but they would leave a legacy that would forever enrich our knowledge of the natural world.
- Released:
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries
- Stars: Miranda July, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft
- Director: Sara Dosa
Comments
- bdvdvkqcm - 13 January 2023
Well crafted archival filmmaking
The filmmakers have beautifully exploited their access to the trove of archival film that the Kraffts built over decades of work studying volcanoes. This is an editor's film, through and through. The storytelling is a good balance of natural science and human interest, showing the importance of science Maurice and Katia practiced while not shying away from the corrupting influence of the self mythologizing they practiced.
The only shortcoming is that the ending is perfunctory relative to the breadth and bounty of the lives profiled. Blink and you'll miss it. Inexplicable, given the power, depth and beauty leading up to this point. - gortx - 11 November 2022
Engaging look at literal Rock Stars
Katia Krafft and Maurice Krafft were the most famous amateur Volcano scientists for over twenty years - literal (lava) Rock Stars of sorts. That they died doing what they loved seems more apropos than tragic (not a spoiler; it's revealed in the first five minutes and is in all the publicity materials). Their story is well told in Sara Dosa's documentary FIRE OF LOVE.
Fortunately, the Kraffts left behind a treasure trove of materials from films to videos to stills to books and personal notes. Their life was also well covered in the French press and there is ample footage from TV programs. Dosa smartly assembles the information to not only detail their numerous expeditions, but also their personal lives. The Kraftts' devotion to their work truly became their only focus in life at a certain point, and they relied on sales of the films and books to become professionals - in turn, financing all their trips to exotic lands in pursuit of the latest volcanic eruption.
Those expeditions didn't just document the volcanic activity from afar, the Kraffts always dared to get closer and closer and closer. At one point Maurice dubs himself a "kamikaze" - akin to a tornado chaser. It was his life's dream to actually sail down a lava flow on a raft! The immediacy of some of the footage makes some of the scenes look like a "sci-fi movie" as is mentioned here. Even in the shots where neither Krafft is not in the actual frame, one still feels their presence. The images feel both unreal and intimate.
The trickiest balance that Dosa has to weigh is how to cover the lovable couple's demise. It isn't avoided. Indeed, the Kraffts themselves often refer to their own mortality considering how incredibly dangerous their exploits were. The narration (voiced well by Miranda July) is occasionally over-written (when in doubt, let the footage tell the story), but is effective nonetheless. FIRE OF LOVE is an engaging look at a pair of daredevil scientists whose mutual love of volcanoes joined them forever together.
