Fire of Love (2022)

On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the nominees for the 2022 Oscars. Having the list of nominees for documentary means that I’ve got a curated list of documentaries that will be perfect for my goal of watching 5 documentaries from 2022. I had already seen Tinder Swindler during last year, and I watched Hidden Letters a couple of weeks ago.

Unfortunately, right now only 2 of the nominees for best Documentary are available on streaming. Hopefully some of these other films will show up on streaming soon, but for now, I decided I’d squeeze in the ones that are available to watch.

Fire of Love is a documentary about Katia and Maurice Krafft, two volcanologists who were pioneers in their field during an incredible time for advancements in the field. The story documents the way that their relationship and volcanology complement each other. The two were particularly well-known for their incredible photography and videography of volcanoes, going right up to the edges of lava flows and catching some incredible explosions at close range. This film features so much of their incredible images, and if you want to be absolutely floored by the incredible images they were able to capture, this film is already incredible.

But that probably wouldn’t be enough to justify a “best documentary” nomination, and what makes this film stand out is that it also deals with the ends of Katia and Maurice’s lives. In 1991, Katia and Maurice went to Mount Unzen to document its explosion. They had decided that they wanted to capture footage of the most dangerous volcanoes in order to spur governments and communities to take potential volcanic explosions seriously. The explosion was horrific and caught them where they weren’t expecting. Katia and Maurice, as well as their friend Harry Glicken, were both killed by the explosion and the pyroclastic flows. The film shows all of the images that are still available, giving us the last moments before nature overwhelmed them.

It is a beautiful story about two people and their love affair with volcanoes, and the way that it formed the basis of their relationship. It is an incredible documentary about the extreme natural environments on the planet and their beauty and the way they bring a connection between people. The film is careful and melancholic, but also filled with beautiful moments from every day life which are juxtaposed against awe-inspiring volcanic photography.

Fire of Love is a great documentary and you can watch it on Disney Plus, and I think that a lot of people will love this poignant exploration of human love and the desire to learn more.