Fire of Love

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A superb film for nature-lovers and a great film to study for budding documentarians, Fire of Love explores a dynamic relationship between volcanologists, with beautiful editing and archival footage; however, its pace somewhat undermines the beauty of the film. In Fire of Love, we are introduced to Katia and Maurice Krafft, Alsatian French volcanologists and spouses. From the beginning, it is evident that Maurice is the one who jumps in with abandon, and Katia is the one who takes calculated, measured risks. Through footage and some interviews, director Sara Dosa shows the Kraffts in their daring exploits, filming, photographing and recording volcanoes-and getting within feet of lava flows. The National Geographic documentary team behind this film has evidently spent a sizable portion of time collecting stunning natural footage and archival video and sound to tell the story of this legendary duo. They team successfully assemble a great audiovisual gallery.... But the film needs something more. There are times where inserted music and natural footage seems to take over the storyline and bring things to a halt. We get heartwarming glimpses of the couple's dynamic with one another-for the majority of the Fire of Love, we see the Kraffts at work, discussing their pursuits-but it would have been great to see more of them talking to one another, reflecting one-on-one. The film seems to waver between their relationship and their work, without discussing the intersection of both very clearly. For example, a question I wish was answered better by the film was how the two maintained a work-life balance. The most compelling, moving part of Fire of Love is the couple's blazing end-they died in a 1991 volcanic explosion in Japan-and it was captured with such deep emotion that I was left speechless. Fire of Love is all about companionship, teamwork, and following your passion. There are of course some daring stunts performed in the film-the Kraffts, after all, are in a dangerous line of work. I give Fire of Love 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. Fire of Love is available in theaters now. By Eshaan M., KIDS FIRST!

Fire of Love (2022) is a documentary about a couple who studied volcanos up until their tragic deaths. Unfortunately I really wasn't a fan of this documentary. The narration is incredibly tedious and uninteresting, which is a shame as the couple seemed very intriguing! The documentary uses a lot of archive footage, which is good for the most party, however there are a lot of shots that go on for way too long. The visuals are pretty, but don't feel unique in any way. There's a lack of interesting editing too. My main issue with the film is the narration, which feels incredibly lifeless and dull. It's also not very well written, and doesn't go in to detail about anything. In terms of the original score, it's okay but once again lacks substance and feels very one-note. Katia and Maurice seemed like genuinely interesting and smart people and I'm glad they're getting more attention, but this documentary left me wanting to know more about them. Despite the film being about the couple, I felt like I'd learnt nothing about them or their relationship. I also wish they included face-to-face interviews with those who knew them. Lastly, the documentary is hard to get into, and really drags at times. It's very slow paced and not as engaging as I'd hoped, resulting in it being way too hard to pay attention to. Also, I really didn't find it all that educational.

As "Fire of Love" (2022 release; 93 min) opens, we are introduced to Maurice and Katia Krafft, vulcanologists from France, and we are reminded that the film's footage comes "from the deep archives of the Kraffts". We go back in time, as the couple meets in the Alsace region of France and develops a mutual interest and passion in exploring active volcanoes. They document their travels in movies and pictures. At that point we are 10 minutes into the documentary. Couple of comments: this is directed by Sara Dosa ("Tricky Dick & The Man In Black"). The movie consists entirely from the hundreds of hours of footage that the Kraffts recorded during their travels all over the world. This results in the movie being shown in the rather unusual 4:3 film ratio, but let's be clear: this does not affect the movie's top quality at all. The footage is nothing short of stunning, as the couple edges ever closer to active volcanoes. They fully realize the potential dangers of doing so, but as Katia comments: "Curiosity is stronger than fear". Elsewhere Maurice comments (I'm paraphrasing): "If I die tomorrow doing this, it's alright." The mixture of watching the forces of active volcanoes and the couple's passion for their work (and each other) makes for a dreamy, poetic, and yes, romantic cocktail of life and love. "Love of Fire" premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival to immediate critical acclaim. The film is currently rated 99% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. I am equally 99% certain that this will be nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar. The movie is currently streaming on Hulu, where I caught it the other night. If you are in the mood for an extraordinary nature documentary the likes of which you have never seen before, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion. *UPDATE* As I had expected, the movie did get a Best Documentary Oscar nomination, and I'd say it has a decent chance of winning the Oscar, although "Navalny" and "All The Beauty and the Bloosdhed" (both of which outstanding documentaries in their own right) are also right up there. (My personal prediction is that "Navalny" will take the Best Documentary Oscar.)

Too art house of a film for my liking, as the story pushes through very slowly while trying to paint Maurice and Katia's love. Feels like a job half done, as the film feels too scientific for a romantic documentary, but also not serious enough as a full on scientific documentary. The true highlight of the film is the vast amount of volcanic eruption footage that can rarely be seen outside this film. Maurice and Katia's dedication to their craft is astonishing, and I am just glad that their legacy has been preserved in a documentary like this, even though the documentary itself is not really to my liking.

As a whole, I enjoyed this documentary because of the breathtaking footages taken by Katia and Maurice which are amazing and full of wonders! It's a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon in the summer and felt inspired by their enthusiasm ans curiosity to explore the unknown, which I found very inspiring. What I personally found less enjoyable was the way the plot of their love story was presented which I would have fast forwarded if I watched this film at home on a streaming service (I watched it in a movie theater). I felt that that this film was trying to present the story in the two French volcanists' version of "Amélie". The sentiment that the female narrator tried to create made me feel distracted from learning more about connection between Katia and Maurice ans their deep engrossment in volcanos. I gave it a 7 because of the personal footages by Maurice and Katia and their adventures which were so close to where the eruption was. I particularly loved how they just walked down to the crater or the lava!

What a treat. This documentary can be appreciated simply for the poetic beauty of its images. As the images are all archives shot by Katia and Maurice, the documentary is above all a tribute to the lives and achievements of this amazing couple. Everybody can relate to the beginning of their trajectory: as they were disappointed by humanity, they turned to nature in order to replace bitterness with amazement. Something in their couple reminded me of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and not just the contrast of their silhouettes. A scene in particular fascinated me: they are dressed like science fictions characters and dance by the magma of an active volcano. It felt like a Daft Punk extravagant special effect, but here nature does all the show without special effects. I enjoyed the sound track, very eclectic, mixing Dalida with the band Air, but in touch with the topic. Finally, and maybe this is icing on the cake, the documentary is more than a tribute to two brave scientists, it can be seen as a existential meditation about time, humanity, contemplation and risk. One philosopher comes to mind, and is quoted by Maurice : Nietzsche. What is human life, if not the attempt to dance on the verge of erupting volcano?