Film Review - Fire of Love

Images courtesy of Madman Entertainment.

Fire of Love is a documentary that chronicles the lives and careers of Maurice and Katia Krafft, two French volcanologists who were lovers, and, in an American Beauty-esque way, we're told will be killed in the 1991 Mount Unzen eruption. Directed by Sara Dosa and narrated by a soft spoken Miranda July, the film is largely composed of stunning archival footage shot by Maurice himself, and through this lens we see the passion that they both shared for these incredible natural phenomena, as well as each other.

From the moment the film's credits start and a psychedelic rock song plays as lava flows and boils, it's hard to see the images captured as anything less than striking. Even in the small cinema Fire of Love was screened in, I felt utterly transfixed by the gorgeous rivers of magma rendered beautifully on 4:3 film, and it comes as no surprise that it's also getting a limited IMAX release. The sheer scale of the subject matter translates beautifully, and likewise the scope isn't entirely limited to Katia and Maurice's point of view.

We see the devastating toll of governments who are indifferent to the opinions of experts; it's horrifying to know that even when warned, officials would fear the loss of money associated with evacuation rather than the eventual loss of over 20,000 human lives as result of volcanic eruption. Though the film is infatuated in its mountainous monoliths to the point where they're given starring credits, it also manages to make its human stars seem equally as gigantic and magnetic. It's only in the latter half of the runtime that the magic begins to fade, though thankfully, the final 20 minutes refocuses as the film reaches its terrifying conclusion.

Though they might claim not to be filmmakers, the footage captured here is truly special, and Katia & Maurice make for welcoming hosts thanks to their understated eccentricities. Bold and breathtaking in its awe-inspiring images of nature at its most fierce, Fire of Love does what any great nature doco should - not just fascinate, but entertain.

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Fire of Love is screening in cinemas from 25th August. For tickets and more info, click here.