The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft + Werner Herzog Zoom Q&A
classified 18 (CTBA)Please note: This was screened in Dec 2022
“I am never afraid, because I’ve seen so many eruptions in 25 years that, even if I die tomorrow, I don’t care.” Maurice Krafft
Written, directed and narrated by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, The Fire Within pays homage to French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who left an archive of more than 200 hours of footage of their final journey, unprecedented in its hypnotic beauty.
On 3 June 1991, a deadly cloud of hot gas and rock spewed out of Japan’s Mount Unzen. Among the 43 people consumed by it were Katia and Maurice, volcanologists who filmed volcanoes and risked their lives to shoot the most spectacular eruptions of the 20th century. Their legacy consists of groundbreaking footage of eruptions and their aftermath, which Herzog draws on in this mesmerising visual collage.
Ominous and operatic, The Fire Within is a fitting memorial to two people who gave their lives in the pursuit of both science and the pure cinematic image, and while Herzog calls his film a requiem, instead of mourning the loss of the couple, this is a powerful celebration of their heritage.
“It appears to me that the Kraffts were shooting a whole film about Creation in the making. They just didn’t have enough time left to edit it.” Werner Herzog