Directed by: Sara Dosa
Written by: Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa
Produced by: Shane Boris, Sara Dosa, Ina Fichman
Executive Producers: Carolyn Bernstein, Greg Baustead, ben Braun, Josh Braun, Jessica Harrop
Narrated by: Miranda July
Archive Footage: Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft.
Maurice and Katia met in 1966.
The story goes, ‘The café closes. It begins to rain. They will never leave each other.’
Fire of Love is a documentary about two people who found each other, who shared the same passion: volcanoes.
Maurice a geologist and Katia a chemist, both are fascinated by the same phenomena in their own unique way. The relationship of the couple and their relationship to the volcano is the driving force of the documentary, shown with care, attention to detail, turning the footage taken by the couple, Maurice recording video, Katia always with her camera, into a poetry.
Narrated by Miranda July, the story of the lives of Katia and Maurice is told with shots from above a coffee cup, the coffee disappearing to illustrate the time when they met, the conversation, the beginning of their shared obsession.
Paper lithography of mountains growing out of the earth change the texture of the documentary and are used to show the movement of the tectonic plates beneath, along with split screen of nature shots by Katia so there’s this constant flow of imagery as the audience gets to know the couple while they document and educate the world about the volcano.
This is a beautifully crafted documentary using video footage and images captured by the volconists as they travel the world, chasing the volcanoes as they erupt. It’s mind-blowing to see humans standing in front of such a force of nature as the heat from the centre of the earth melts rock so it spews into the sky and runs like a river, destroying everything in its path. And there they stand, in silver suits, awe struck. Obsessed. Nothing could be better than being right there as a volcano erupts.
The relationship of the pair is a running thread through the doco, but it’s also about the science, their exploration and documentation of what was still a mystery.
Their passion to chase erupting volcanoes from: Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Hawaii, Zaire in Africa, Colombia in South America, Japan, was at the same time as the tectonic plates of the earth were being mapped.
They were mesmerised by the ‘red’ volcanoes as they stood before exploding showers of red rock, revelling in how small humans are in the face of such heat and power.
There’s a philosophy at play here, to understand what makes two people put themselves in danger, in front of such force, knowing that at any moment they could fall or miscalculate.
Their curiosity was stronger than their fear.
They go on the interview circuit, captivating the world with their stories of standing in front of such danger. Maurice explaining in one interview that he didn’t want volcanoes to be categorized, going as far as saying classification is abusive. He wanted each volcano to be seen as unique.
But after witnessing the devastation of 25 thousand lives lost after an eruption in Colombia (despite scientists warning of the potential eruption), their focus shifts from the ‘red’ volcano to the ‘grey’, named after the ash from these killer volcanoes, to better understand the danger, to try to predict an eruption to warn people, to save lives.
Fire of Love is a fascinating documentary that’s both exciting and poetic, romantic and philosophical.
A truly unique experience that I enjoyed from the start to its poignant finish.