The Fire Within: Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft

There is something so hypnotic for me when it comes to Werner Herzog and his creations, there is something almost animalistic, yet so sophisticated, poetic in all of his movies and documentaries. Werner's films (or book) make me leave everything I do to listen to him, to watch, learn. No different experience I had with this one tonight: so humane, gentle and poetic yet devastating film where humans and nature go in parallel with each of their steps and history. Beautiful, touching, compassionate but artistic, never pathetic - everything you would expect from this great filmmaker and creator. Highly recommendable.

The pictures of exploding volcanoes are quite extraordinary, the accompanying soundtrack is fittingly haunting, this documentary also shows how devastating exploding volcanoes can be for the human beings, animals & the countryside that lie in their paths. You just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also Werner Herzog's narration is magnificent in its wonder, tenderness & almost reverence for the power of nature - & his admiration of the Krafft couple is quite evident. You are left really regretting that they were killed during an eruption in Japan because their archive feels unfinished while their legacy lives on.

Despite some rough edits and bare bones production value, another Herzog masterpiece in the same league as Fata Morgana.

The images shot by the Krafts and their home movies of each other are breathtaking. These are stitched together masterfully by Herzog as a lasting tribute to their work and a celebration of their sense of wonder.

I'm glad Herzog's gone back to making documentaries in the twilight of his career because his films of the 21st century have often been disappointing, while his documentaries continue to wow. His voice is a little more aged here, he's getting considerably older, but he's still got the old magic. THE FIRE WITHIN, which follows the career of a couple of ill-fated vulcanologists via their own filmed footage, is classic Herzog, looking at the darker side of mankind's place in nature. Shades of GRIZZLY MAN and others, then. The footage is astonishingly beautiful, accompanied by wonderfully chosen music and Herzog's thoughtful narration.

It's easy to see why Werner Herzog was attracted to the story of Katia and Maurice Krafft, seeing as they had a job that involved some kind of unusual natural phenomena, they had a determination that put themselves in immense danger, and they were also keen filmmakers, in a way.

Plenty of Herzog movies (his feature films and documentaries alike) have unusual or unconventional figures pursuing something outdoors, and I think The Fire Within feels almost like a spiritual sequel to Grizzly Man, in some ways. We learn the fate of the central figures straight away, and in both films, those figures left behind much film footage that more or less speaks to who they were. The key difference is that in Grizzly Man, grizzly bears were the dangerous threat within nature, and in this documentary, it's volcanoes.

I feel like there might be less mystery or psychological deep-diving here on Herzog's part, which might be the main reason this didn't grip me as much as Grizzly Man, nor some of the very best Herzog documentaries out there. Maybe there was less to ponder about when it came to Katia and Maurice Krafft, or maybe Herzog was more intent on letting the footage speak for itself (unlike Grizzly Man, The Fire Within does notably lack interviews with other people throughout).

But for the amazing footage on offer, and the interesting presentation/editing, The Fire Within's still good. It wasn't done any favors by coming out the same year as the superior Fire of Love, because that one focused on the same people and was, from memory, much more emotionally resonant, but I still feel like there's enough on offer in The Fire Within to make it worth watching alongside that other 2022 documentary about Katia and Maurice Krafft.