"The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft" is a pretty long (double) title for a relatively short film as this one here stays a bit under the 1.5-hour mark. The writer and director is of course renowned Bavarian filmmaker Werner Herzog who turned 80 not too long ago and it is nice to see him still really active and prolific. I was lucky enough to watch this film yesterday in the presence of the man himself, thus a packed theater just like it should be, and he also made an introduction to his most recent work here, said a few words on how this is not the first time the Kraffts got featured in one of his films and elaborated a bit on the background of the documentary. He is right though that this is not really a film that offers a lot of room to discuss certain aspects. It is more of an experience. You will find many video recordings in here from volcano eruptions that are at the center of it all and the film only very rarely moves back from that and one occasion would be at the start when we find out briefly how the two people from the title met and got in touch with each other, which also had to do with their work of course and in the second half we see some other video recordings from them that also included animals, monkeys for example, so they were not only all about recording volcano eruptions, even if this is what they will always be remembered for. Also with the tragic component to it all. Of course, it makes total sense when Herzog says that some of the recordings you see in here were filmed from places that posed a severe risk to the couple's and also their assistants' lives and that they never should have been in these places when the volcanoes erupted because it simply was a massive hazard. And still there is a constant conflict if you in the audience would have wanted to be with them that very moment. We find out how they were lucky a few times when they basically left an island on a boat briefly before the entire island almost exploded from what happened up there in the mountains. But one can have only so much luck and it ended for them in Japan in 1991, which means over 30 years ago now, so the making of this film was also a bit of a 30th anniversary tribute I guess, even if it got released later. Or is still in the process of being released, even if it won an award already.
The Kraffts met in France in the 1960s, so the time between their meeting and their death is less at this point already than between their death and the now. This shows you that well, they are not a thing of the past, luckily because of films like this, but how much time has passed since their deaths already. This documentary is not really stuff that Herzog filmed himself, but video footage from the Kraffts themselves from back in the day and it is edited together and we see many beautiful areas of the planet. Great beauty that comes with the same grand amount of danger. A lot from Asia, but nor exclusively. For example, Hawaii is also featured in here. There are some breathtaking recordings. The muddy avalanches are of course special in their own right, but for me nothing is on par with the bright red and orange lava that is included on many occasions. Everybody will have their own favorite parts I suppose. For me, the very best scene was probably when we see how this boiling hot lava meets the water right underneath it. This was some real clash of elements depicted there. There is also some elaboration on how the Kraffts tried to entertain the audiences. Maybe this was more the guy's approach when we see him channel his inner Cousteau, when we see them act even in the face of trying to depict the danger or fear in a way that was of course staged. The danger was always there boiling in the unknown. No need to fake it. You could see that Mrs. Krafft was perhaps not as much in her element there as her husband, but still she decided to be a part of this. She was also probably the more cautious one from the duo. There are indicators of that coming from her as well through her actions, even if she seems very confident when the camera is on, but the most telling thing is of course Maurice Krafft's famous comment about how he has seen so many eruptions that he does not care one bit anymore if he dies the next day and that was bound too happen then indeed. Had this been in a fictitious live action movie, then everybody would have said the foreshadowing was ridiculous and way too obvious, but sometimes reality tops it all you can say.
The focus in this film is really almost exclusively on the Kraffts, for example we also find out about the gigantic amount of photos she took during their explorations that could make for many fascinating exhibitions. At the end we see their graveside and also that the people buried with them got really old, lived for many years after 1991, perhaps her parents as they said the two got buried with her family. Only very briefly we find out about one of the many people who also died with the Kraffts during the tragedy that day and that one is renowned American geologist Henri Glicken. We also find out how he got lucky on another occasion before that, but by 1991 he probably had no more luck left. He was over a decade younger than Maurice Krafft and that means even 15 years younger than Katia Krafft, who was the older half from the couple. This film is not just about humans. We also see how the sheer power (kinda ironic that the couple had the last name that is the German word for power with one slight spelling change, almost as if nature wanted to tell them that this is where the real power lies) of nature, the sheer power of these eruptions had a devastating impact on animals as well. How cows were stuck and nobody could help them and they were destined to die there, starve to death. Or also how birds were impacted. They may get saved on a few occasions even, at least the one we say. Nature gives and nature takes.
The audio also deserves a bit of elaboration. At the key of it all, you will listen to music that you usually hear at the opera. Very high female voices singing and also strong instruments instruments providing a soundtrack that at least tries to match the eternal power of nature here. This film is called a requiem in the second half of the title for a reason. What you will also hear of course is the voice of Werner Herzog who once again is in charge of the narration himself. He is not constantly featured and often lets the music speak, but when we hear him, it is as nice as always. I just really adore listening to his voice and I am genuinely happy I got to see him in person twice over the last week, once in Munich, once here in Berlin. Hopefully not the last time. It seems as if his energy has not declined, which is really nice. Would be so cool if he keeps making films for another five or even ten years, so yeah if you are not a German or English native speaker, but speak either language, I still suggest you go for the version with him as a narrator and not for a version that features another narrator in your native language. Herzog is a vital part of this film, of this experience just like he always is with his works.
I myself am a bit skeptical always with documentary films that are about risking your life in the nature, especially in terms of documentaries about climbing mountains, but this one here is something entirely different because, even if there was still a huge risk to everything the Kraffts did, it does not feel pointless really because they got mesmerizing recordings for everybody who wants to watch their work. So I cannot be too harsh on this, even if it is of course also a bit of a hara-kiri approach from their side. More than a bit admittedly. It cannot be denied and you can say they also put other people at risk, but then again it was up to everybody themselves to decide if they want to be a part of these missions. Herzog got in his love for film once again when he makes a quick parallel to the atmosphere in spaghetti westerns. It is so nice to see him shoot films like this and not awful fiction movies starring Veronica Ferres. Not sure what he was thinking there. One of the most haunting moments here was probably the brief segment in which we see a Japanese guy, we do not get a name, only that he still wiped his camera despite the imminent danger, and how he runs away from the approaching super-fast and super-big wall of stone coming down from Mount Unzen, all the smoke and heat. It was also haunting when we see the other people on the camera there for a very brief glimpse, perhaps the ones this documentary is about and their last moment(s). I think this unknown man got luckier than the Kraffts and Glicken that day. That is all then. I give this documentary a positive recommendation, not an overly enthusiastic one because Herzog has done other stuff I enjoyed more, but still the thumbs-up for the outcome was never in doubt here. Go see it if you have the chance, also if you are from the UK. I think there is a BBC connection with this one here or at least they turned it into a version that became one of their own.
The Kraffts met in France in the 1960s, so the time between their meeting and their death is less at this point already than between their death and the now. This shows you that well, they are not a thing of the past, luckily because of films like this, but how much time has passed since their deaths already. This documentary is not really stuff that Herzog filmed himself, but video footage from the Kraffts themselves from back in the day and it is edited together and we see many beautiful areas of the planet. Great beauty that comes with the same grand amount of danger. A lot from Asia, but nor exclusively. For example, Hawaii is also featured in here. There are some breathtaking recordings. The muddy avalanches are of course special in their own right, but for me nothing is on par with the bright red and orange lava that is included on many occasions. Everybody will have their own favorite parts I suppose. For me, the very best scene was probably when we see how this boiling hot lava meets the water right underneath it. This was some real clash of elements depicted there. There is also some elaboration on how the Kraffts tried to entertain the audiences. Maybe this was more the guy's approach when we see him channel his inner Cousteau, when we see them act even in the face of trying to depict the danger or fear in a way that was of course staged. The danger was always there boiling in the unknown. No need to fake it. You could see that Mrs. Krafft was perhaps not as much in her element there as her husband, but still she decided to be a part of this. She was also probably the more cautious one from the duo. There are indicators of that coming from her as well through her actions, even if she seems very confident when the camera is on, but the most telling thing is of course Maurice Krafft's famous comment about how he has seen so many eruptions that he does not care one bit anymore if he dies the next day and that was bound too happen then indeed. Had this been in a fictitious live action movie, then everybody would have said the foreshadowing was ridiculous and way too obvious, but sometimes reality tops it all you can say.
The focus in this film is really almost exclusively on the Kraffts, for example we also find out about the gigantic amount of photos she took during their explorations that could make for many fascinating exhibitions. At the end we see their graveside and also that the people buried with them got really old, lived for many years after 1991, perhaps her parents as they said the two got buried with her family. Only very briefly we find out about one of the many people who also died with the Kraffts during the tragedy that day and that one is renowned American geologist Henri Glicken. We also find out how he got lucky on another occasion before that, but by 1991 he probably had no more luck left. He was over a decade younger than Maurice Krafft and that means even 15 years younger than Katia Krafft, who was the older half from the couple. This film is not just about humans. We also see how the sheer power (kinda ironic that the couple had the last name that is the German word for power with one slight spelling change, almost as if nature wanted to tell them that this is where the real power lies) of nature, the sheer power of these eruptions had a devastating impact on animals as well. How cows were stuck and nobody could help them and they were destined to die there, starve to death. Or also how birds were impacted. They may get saved on a few occasions even, at least the one we say. Nature gives and nature takes.
The audio also deserves a bit of elaboration. At the key of it all, you will listen to music that you usually hear at the opera. Very high female voices singing and also strong instruments instruments providing a soundtrack that at least tries to match the eternal power of nature here. This film is called a requiem in the second half of the title for a reason. What you will also hear of course is the voice of Werner Herzog who once again is in charge of the narration himself. He is not constantly featured and often lets the music speak, but when we hear him, it is as nice as always. I just really adore listening to his voice and I am genuinely happy I got to see him in person twice over the last week, once in Munich, once here in Berlin. Hopefully not the last time. It seems as if his energy has not declined, which is really nice. Would be so cool if he keeps making films for another five or even ten years, so yeah if you are not a German or English native speaker, but speak either language, I still suggest you go for the version with him as a narrator and not for a version that features another narrator in your native language. Herzog is a vital part of this film, of this experience just like he always is with his works.
I myself am a bit skeptical always with documentary films that are about risking your life in the nature, especially in terms of documentaries about climbing mountains, but this one here is something entirely different because, even if there was still a huge risk to everything the Kraffts did, it does not feel pointless really because they got mesmerizing recordings for everybody who wants to watch their work. So I cannot be too harsh on this, even if it is of course also a bit of a hara-kiri approach from their side. More than a bit admittedly. It cannot be denied and you can say they also put other people at risk, but then again it was up to everybody themselves to decide if they want to be a part of these missions. Herzog got in his love for film once again when he makes a quick parallel to the atmosphere in spaghetti westerns. It is so nice to see him shoot films like this and not awful fiction movies starring Veronica Ferres. Not sure what he was thinking there. One of the most haunting moments here was probably the brief segment in which we see a Japanese guy, we do not get a name, only that he still wiped his camera despite the imminent danger, and how he runs away from the approaching super-fast and super-big wall of stone coming down from Mount Unzen, all the smoke and heat. It was also haunting when we see the other people on the camera there for a very brief glimpse, perhaps the ones this documentary is about and their last moment(s). I think this unknown man got luckier than the Kraffts and Glicken that day. That is all then. I give this documentary a positive recommendation, not an overly enthusiastic one because Herzog has done other stuff I enjoyed more, but still the thumbs-up for the outcome was never in doubt here. Go see it if you have the chance, also if you are from the UK. I think there is a BBC connection with this one here or at least they turned it into a version that became one of their own.