Fire of Love
Sara Dosa
CPH:DOX film festival
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ON 3 June 1991, Mount Unzen, an active volcano near Nagasaki in Japan, erupted and sent a deadly pyroclastic surge of hot gas and ash down the mountain. In its path with their cameras rolling were Katia and Maurice Krafft, a married team of French volcanologists and film-makers, renowned for their incredible close-up footage of eruptions. They were killed, along with 41 others.
The Kraffts鈥� careers and relationship, both personal and professional, are the focus of Fire of Love, a documentary that premiered at this year鈥檚 Sundance Film Festival in Utah and will be shown this month at the , Denmark.
Directed by Sara Dosa and narrated by the actor and director Miranda July, the film explores the parallels between the love the Kraffts had for each other and their joint passion for capturing Earth鈥檚 fury on film.
Dosa delivers a romanticised vision of the Kraffts鈥� work as they capture stunning images of eruptions and collect data from the edge of volcanoes, while seemingly embracing the dangers of being so close to the action.
For Dosa, their personal relationship is key to making the whole enterprise work. In archive footage, each openly admits that they can鈥檛 function without the other. Katia meticulously examines rocks and takes samples with a careful eye, while Maurice鈥檚 bold nature pushes them to seek out bigger and better pictures and to get closer to the action.
The ever-present threat of molten lava seemingly did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm. Throughout the documentary, the footage reveals the pair鈥檚 charmingly innocent wonder and fascination with their subject. In one scene, we see Katia at the edge of a volcano with no protective gear as lava spurts out. She stands, looking up in awe, seemingly unconcerned by the molten rock raining down around her.
Yet while this sounds like the work of thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies, the film depicts the Kraffts not as reckless or foolhardy, but as a loving couple consumed by a mutual curiosity and passion for adventure.
But the documentary isn鈥檛 all about romance and excitement. Brief animated segments about the history of volcanoes give Fire of Love a more educational tone, in which we learn about volcanoes and the devastating fallout of their eruptions. Two notable examples are the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens 鈥� which killed 57 people, including a close friend of the Kraffts鈥�, the volcanologist David Johnston 鈥� and the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz near Armero, Colombia, which killed at least 23,000 people.
Through these examples, we see that the legacy of the Kraffts鈥� work extends beyond exciting images. Their footage has been instrumental in illustrating the dangers that eruptions pose to those living in the shadows of volcanoes and persuading authorities to put evacuation plans into place to protect them. The heartbreaking shots of the destruction around Armero in particular show what can happen when volcanologists鈥� warnings aren鈥檛 taken seriously and swiftly acted on.
Above all, though, this is a film that celebrates the love story of a brave couple whose dedication changed our understanding of volcanoes, but ultimately cost them their lives.
鈥淭he footage reveals the pair鈥檚 charmingly innocent wonder and fascination for their subject鈥�
Through stills and video beautifully edited by Erin Casper and Jocelyn Chaput, we get to share the Kraffts鈥� experience of eruptions, seeing Earth鈥檚 power with an intimacy that is only possible by standing at the edge of volcanic craters.
A nostalgic score brings a whimsical tone to the footage, and presents their lives as a unique moment in time 鈥� a captivating and endearing tale of two kindred spirits who wanted to understand the world and to share their passion with others.
