Recensioni degli utenti

I appreciate these victims willing to go on camera and share their story. It would be incredibly difficult to recount their experience.

To those who have left a review saying there isnt enough camera footage and what footage we do have is blurry - what is wrong with you? This is not a Hollywood film with perfect scenes for your enjoyment.

I personally found the footage and the audio to be terrifying.

The helicopter pilots who went out of their way and did everything they did to help, are absolute hero's.

Whist hard to watch, I highly recommend watching it so you understand what happened that day. And come away appreciating your own life and the force of nature.

How much risk is acceptable risk? How well informed are you before you take your family on an adventure excursion? Risk cannot be avoided otherwise you will have no experiences worth living for but where is the tipping point? In retrospect it seems that these excursions should not have been allowed but hindsight is 20/20. As a person who studies risk for a living, my only advice is to take risks that are known but avoid the unknown. I recommend watching this documentary for this reason; to give you food for thought. Considering it was only 3 years ago I commend the participants for their conteributions and the makers for their discretion.

This documentary about the tragic eruption in 2019 of the Whakaari volcano that killed 22 people and injured more shows the reason for the attraction that these people, and many more before them, had for visiting. Despite the potential danger, it's as beautiful a place as one can imagine. It had previously erupted in 2013 and 2016, so I'm not so sure I would have gone there in 2019 as a three year pattern, even if just a coincidence, had emerged. In any event, the poor people who happened to visit on that particular day suffered horrendously and some of the survivors are here to tell, and in some cases, show what occurred. Some of it is actual footage taken by some who survived and some of it is recreated events narrated by those there that day. The human survivor focal points are a couple who were there on their honeymoon and a young man who lost his entire immediate family and somehow, miraculously survived while with them. He alone will break your heart offering inspiration as well. Included are are also some very, very moving recollections of the bravery of many. This is a difficult re-telling of the events to hear, but oddly, there is no mention of all of the legal ramifications that occurred afterwards as there was some warning that the volcano could possibly erupt. The end credits make it clear that no one was ever held responsible despite that fact. The newlywed husband, a very congenial man to listen to, states at one point he would never had gone had he had been aware of all the facts that were known that day and you can just feel the pent up rage he is feeling beneath that veneer. Tours of this island are no longer allowed.

Honest and balanced but can't help feeling the victims deserved tough questions to be asked about the lack of early warning systems, lack of requirement for appropriate safety equipment to be carried or stored on the island. The survivors bravery for telling their stories was incredible and the creators deserve credit for sharing them so honestly. Have to hope that other similar volcano tourism operations around have taken note and adjusted safety protocols accordingly. It may be many years before people go back but I suspect it will happen eventually and no doubt be very different when it happens.

This documentary tells the sad and tragic story of the eruption of the Whakaari volcano that killed 22 people and injured countless others.

This documentary is mesmerizing and devastating. Well crafted in its narrative, with stories from victims and rescuers.

The helicopter pilots that went to the island to rescue people when the government called it a no fly zone and would not send in others. These men are true heroes. Absolutely remarkable human beings.

This documentary is a must watch. It is horrific to even think about what these people went through, the pain and suffering from steam burns is beyond description.

The real footage taken and audio are haunting and terrifying.

This is a must watch.

As "The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari" (2022 release; 98 min) opens, we are introduced to a small community on the North Island of New Zealand. Thirty miles off the coast lies Whakaari, or "White Island", one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and a popular tourist attraction. It is "December 9, 2019" as tourists arrive on the island... At this point we are less than 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from director Rory Kennedy, who just earlier this year made the excellent "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing". Here she reflects on that fateful day in December, 2019, when a group of tourists visiting Whakaari find themselves trapped when the volcano erupts. Let me admit up front that I had not heard of this tragedy before seeing this. A couple of things struck: first and foremost, the beauty of that island (someone remarks "it's like landing on the moon"), resulting in absolutely stunning photography (and immediately wanting to add this island to my "bucket list" of places to visit). But also this: there is a reason why the island is called "the most active volcano in the world", as this type of eruption apparently happens with regularity (as in: also in 2016, also in 2013, etc.). It is telling that after the 2019 eruption, the island was closed permanently to visitors, Along the way, we get lots of talking heads, including tourists who survived, first responders, etc.

"The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari" had a brief US theatrical release, and started streaming on Netflix this weekend, where I caught it. In and of itself there is nothing "revolutionary" about this disaster documentary, but watching the footage of this far flung location, literally at the end of the world, makes this worthwhile. Of course don't take my word for it, so I readily encourage you to check it out and draw your own conclusion.

I don't post much on here but I want to say something .... I can't imagine going through what everyone there went through. I will try to keep my words short. 1. This was something that everyone there was looking forward to as an adventure that many others went before. If I was there I would have thought not me. It's not going to happen while I'm here for these few moments. 2. The way everyone came together shows you the true human side of people to help others and not give up. 3. My prayers and thoughts to everyone involved. One more thing.... Speaking on how the doc was done. Whoever said this is long, it's not. It was straight forward and done extremely well. I believe it showed courage and determination. I'm so sad this happened but the doc gives you a first hand look of what everyone went through and puts you right there to relieve a horrible experience that makes you think on your own life and how we as people, we take things for granted on a daily basis. I also still can't imagine the strength it took for everyone involved to show us how and what they experienced.

This is a relatively well-made documentary about the "unexpected" eruption of the Whakaari volcano. This volcano is situated on an island one and a half hour's journey from the coast or 45 minutes by helicopter, hence quite remote.

As bad luck wanted, the island was open to the public and visited regularly by tourists. On the day of the eruption, two groups landed by boat and a handful of tourists landed by helicopter. The group that started earlier managed to leave the island just minutes before the eruption.

At that stage, there were still some 30 people on the island, 25 of them close to the volcano, and all hell broke loose. Some tourists literally melted on the spot never to be found and they were the lucky ones. Some 22 managed to reach the coast, badly burnt and thirsty. The only rescue they found was the first boat that turned back to pick up the injured and the helicopter pilot, who jumped into the sea and was unscathed.

You would expect that an official rescue was organized, but the city officials forbade it because "the situation was too dangerous" and only three (or four?) commercial pilots decided to fly their helicopters to the island to rescue the survivors.

All that gallant rescue was almost for nothing because almost all the rescued people were burned too badly and died, but a handful survived with terrible scars and a very long recovery time. Heartbreaking stories, especially the newlywed and the teenager who lost his parents and his sister.

My relatively low rate is due to the fact that we don't hear much about the victims (what about the helicopter's group?) and that eventually, the moral of the story is always "who's to blame and why the survivors didn't get hefty compensations".

This is one of the better documentaries of the unfolding & aftermath of a natural disaster that I have ever seen...Part of me wanted to turn it off for fear of what I might see - but the larger part wanted to know the truth(s) of this great catastrophe on Whakaari (White Island) The cinematography was excellent along with the variety of narratives from a multitude of perspectives. I'm frankly amazed 22 lives were lost and not all 47 because what was suppose to be an awesome adventure in nature turned in a "heartbeat" to a great tragedy. MANY "lessons" learned in watching it in regard to natural disaster and the elements of first aid for such a rare occurrence. I salute every person who was part of this production for creating an astounding "blow by blow" understanding of how it all unfolded - the wrongs and rights of it and the amazing men and women who came to the rescue in spite of the dangers presented. EXCELLENT documentary!

Its a terrible event that took place in 2019. . And to be honest, i dont think i have ever heard of this tragedy. Just like many others, its often just another headline in the news, of which you read it and feel sorry but without realizing the pain that is behind the letters of the article.

It left me sad the whole day. The pain and horror are beyond anything you can imagine. The documentary delivers a powerfull story of survivors and the community as a whole. I you like documentaties, i would definitly recommend it but be aware that it can leave you emotional after watching it.

Blessings to all the survivors and families of people that passed away.

I thought this documentary was really well done for such a horrific tragedy for those involved. It was so nice to see the bravery of those who helped without hesitation. It was a bit long, but I didn't mind.

It is awful and tragic what happened. No one probably should've been on the island with the alleviated risk, but it is an active volcano. I would've expected these people to do some research on their own or ask questions before taking a trip to an active volcano to determine if they thought it was "safe". I don't think they can blame anyone for what happened. They chose to be there. There is obviously always going to be a risk when it comes to nature. Though we have amazing technology, we can't always predict when a natural disaster will happen.

This tragic event has some incredible accounts of survival and heroism that are inspirational, and this documentary covers that well. However, by focusing only on these "positive" stories, it horribly glosses over the culpability of tourism operators (who had warnings that they ignored) and the ineffectual response of the government (that failed to send aid, and possibly left people to die on the island, only civilians evacuated some people). In trying to present an ultimately uplifting movie, the documentary is unforgivably uncritical of the greater story and the lessons to be learned. Almost all of the documentary focuses on the stories only of survivors and the amazing responding heroes (civilians, not first responders) and fails to examine (even for 1 second whether tourists should have been there - the tour operator was found negligent) or to tell the stories of the victims or even give them any semplance of an identity (with the exception of the 2 local guides who died there). Instead there is brief graphic with the names of the 22 people who died there that flashes briefly at the end. There is a time to be uplifting, but not at the expense of completely ignoring culpability and anonymizing the dead. This is, without exaggeration, one of the most offensive films I've ever seen and one of the most bizarre choices for a documentarian. Disgusting.

This documentary about the explosion of a volcano in New Zealand is well put together.... however it's too long.

It should have been one hour, not more.

47 tourists go on a tour on an island which has an active volcano. Now, that's sound exciting except why the NZ government would allow people to go to an island which had had an explosion respectively 6 and 3 years before ?

The documentary doesn't go into that. It should have had.

The documentary shows us how beautiful this area of the world is. Pacific Ocean so beautiful and majestic with its bright blue colours.... the village, its native Maori people, aerial views of the spectacular island.... All very good photography.

However, the length killed what would have been a great documentary.

Those who helped the victims went way above and beyond what most people would do and deserve to be recognised. However, being amazing and selfless, they don't seem to believe they did anything heroic. The world needs more people like that. The Aussie/NZ survivors are thankful for rescuers and grateful to have survived. We hiked around a volcano, it erupted, we're not dead, life goes on.

On the other hand are the Americans. Nobody told us an active volcano could be dangerous. The boat ride back to the mainland was so long, and there was water (because it's a boat?), it was uncomfortable. They cut my wedding ring. There wasn't a single thing they didn't complain about. The husband claims there was no way to know it could be dangerous, there was no way he could have made an informed decision. (Because he couldn't Google "is an active volcano dangerous"?) If he knew then that a volcano can erupt, he wouldn't have done it. Are you for real? Sure there's a reasonable assumption that organised tours are safe but do your due diligence. And maybe ask a second grader what the words "active volcano" mean. No one forced you to go traipsing around an extremely dangerous place. Take responsibility for yourself, no one else is accountable for your choices. You're solely a victim of your own ignorance.

The documentary was done well enough. The shaky camera work and flashes of generic ground/sky/steam/boats/aircraft are annoying, but without showing actual video of the events it's kind of the only was to show the chaos. It's raw hearing survivors and the victims' loved ones speak of the tragedy. Like all Netflix productions it's twice as long as it should be.