Given the doc’s title, I expected a romance between volcanologists–perhaps one that even reflects nature’s own fires. What we get is more of a love story between volcanologist and the explosive ruptures they study. And Fire of Love is a lot of volcanoes, oozing magma, white smoke, and glowing rocks.
The two French researchers Katia and Maurice Kraft featured in the film remain a mystery. The movie hints at Maurice’s wandering and insistence on stunts, like his dream to kayak in a lava stream. Katia, a rulebreaker, is also a quiet follower of her husband’s footsteps. In some ways they both seem very alone, silently aiding each other in their impossible pursuit of capturing all of nature’s eruptions.
During one moment of the film, Maurice tells an audience that still so little is known about volcanos. Perhaps the couple wanted to reflect that mystery in their own life, never showing too much to the camera and keeping their subject front and center. Ultimately, we’re left with a collection of volcano footage—sometimes beautiful and breathtaking, other times fine enough for science class.
If you like looking at volcanos, this is your movie. But there’s something going on beneath the surface with these volcanologists, and that’s worth a study too.
Billy Movie Reviews 