“Fire of Love” Celebrates the Earth and the People We Share It With

2023’s best love story is told on a canvas of magma and billowing smoke

Volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft denounce the use of standard categorization in their field, with the exception of two broad classes - red (friendly, flowing, and expanding) and grey (deadly, explosive, and colliding). Fire of Love uses this contrasting canvas of melting magma and billowing smoke to illustrate a romance forged from loneliness and a shared love for the eruptions that shape the ground we walk upon.   

The fourth documentary from filmmaker Sara Dosa, Fire of Love was an instant hit when it premiered at Sundance Film Festival nearly a year ago. Though it may have slid under the general public's radar as a run-of-the-mill National Geographic feature, the film is a distant relative to the company's standard pedestrian productions for all of the right reasons. Using a combination of animation, archival footage, and seamlessly incorporated recreations, the film illustrates the tectonic love triangle between two French volcanologists and the fatally mesmerizing elemental phenomenon that they dedicated their lives to. 

The Kraffts' scientific prowess is mirrored by their respective uniquely creative eyes. Katia's love for still photography, paired with Maurice's affinity for film, let us share their vision as we listen to their accounts of the hundreds of volcanoes they visited and observed during their careers. The editing, done by Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput, effortlessly weaves together a lifetime of research and art into the cohesive and gutting story that unfolds before us. We get a brief but intimate examination of the collective artistic and scientific bodies of work of the respective subjects, incorporated into an affecting narrative that never overstates its importance, asking the audience as many questions as it answers. 

The stunning footage captured by the couple is the unequivocal highlight of the entire production. Each shot, carefully framed like something out of a Wes Anderson film, illustrates the terrifying magnitude of the environment and the fearless intimacy that the duo shares with the landscape. Elevated by the endearing score by Nicolas Godin, the otherworldly cinematography demonstrates the deep understanding that the subjects of Fire of Love have for their field. 

This understanding, obsession, and care demonstrated through Katia and Maurice's images can only be described as love. Without love at the core of the documentary, the scale, power, and passion of the story would be buried, but it permeates every moment and gives the entire film a tenderness, even in the most intimidating and existential moments. 

Fire of Love focuses more on poetic exposition than a robotic release of facts which, through Miranda July's dreamy narration, puts a strong emphasis on the relationships between each moving part of the film, whether human or mountain. Simultaneously, this less literal approach never undermines the Kraffts' emphasis on education and uses the emotional groundwork of the documentary to underline the importance of collective care for the natural world and the safety of its inhabitants. It is documentary filmmaking at its finest and uses the medium's power to punctuate the majesty of the earth that we stand on and the people we get to share it with.

OVERALL SCORE: 10/10

Fire of Love was released on July 6 and is currently streaming on Disney+.