The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft is a 2022 documentary film directed by Werner Herzog. The film is a tribute to the French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who were killed on June 3, 1991, by a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen, in Japan.
Content
The film is a celebration of the imagery captured by volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft. Designed as a 'requiem', the film is a non-traditional biography with long sections of volcano footage supported by music and very sparse narration.[1][2]
Production
The film originated from a concept by Producer/Director Peter Lown and Professor Clive Oppenheimer.[citation needed] It was originally commissioned to Brian Leith Productions as a feature documentary for Arte until Oppenheimer introduced the team to Werner Herzog at Sheffield Documentary Film Festival in 2019.[citation needed] Herzog, who had already featured the Kraffts in Into The Inferno, revealed that he had long wanted to make a film about them too. Herzog agreed to direct the movie but insisted that it must be a 'requiem'. [citation needed]The film was eventually co-funded by A+E Networks and went into production in 2021, with Bonne Pioche and Titan Films joining the production.[3]
Release
The film premiered at Sheffield DocFest in 2022.[citation needed] It won best documentary at Shanghai Film Festival in 2023.[citation needed] It was also screened in October 2022 at the 60th Viennale as part of the celebration of Herzog's 80th birthday and at Telluride Film Festival.[1]
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 8 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.00/10.[4] A review on the website Cineuropa comments: "Rather than shoot a straightforward documentary, the director opted to arrange the couple’s footage like a “musical”. Unlike Fire of Love by Sara Dosa, Herzog's film is meant to be a requiem to them, fueled by heavy instrumental and choral music."[1] The Telegraph found the film "mesmerising" and gave it 3 stars out of 5.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Gottlieb, Susanne (2022-11-04). "Review: The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ "The Fire Within: Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft". Doclisboa. Archived from the original on 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ "British Council Film: The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft". film-directory.britishcouncil.org. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ^ "The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ Singh, Anita (2022-10-17). "The Fire Within, review: Herzog's mesmerising tribute to the couple who chased volcanoes till it killed them". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
Related Werner Herzog films
- La Soufrière, a 1977 documentary film about the La Grande Soufrière volcano in Guadeloupe.
- Salt and Fire, a 2016 thriller film about the imminent eruption of a supervolcano in Bolivia.
- Into the Inferno, a 2016 documentary film exploring active volcanoes in Indonesia, Iceland and Ethiopia.
