Salt and Fire

Released Apr 7, 2017

1h 38m

Mystery & Thriller

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for Salt and Fire: Trailer 1

List

33%

40 Reviews

Tomatometer

14%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

A shady businessman abducts a scientist in Bolivia and leaves her stranded in the middle of gigantic salt flats with two blind boys.

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Critics Consensus

Salt and Fire crowds together some impressive talent on both sides of the camera, precious little of which is put to compelling use.

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John A

I'd wager it is the least Herzogian motion picture that was conceived by the man himself. Salt And Fire isn't a bad movie if I'm being perfectly honest yet it is quite boring especially in the later half even though the film begins to show noble and grandiose intentions.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/12/23

Full Review

r 9

Oof. As I always say when I give films such a bad rating/review (though, tbf, only the ninth time I've rated ½*...), it is nothing personal and I respect everyone who worked on this film and, of course, understand it isn't easy to make films. I never enjoy slating one, but this... deary me. I'm not sure where to begin. The dialogue. The dialogue! I genuinely do not believe I've seen a movie with such truly awful dialogue, the amount of times I was holding my head out of cringe was immeasurable. You just know the writer, presumably one Werner Herzog, thought he was prime William Shakespeare when he put it all together. It's not just terrible in itself, it also simply isn't written for the actors - none of it sounds natural out of them whatsoever. Talking of the actors, they merit some iffiness too. Listen, they are severely hampered by those behind the scenes but more was needed - especially from Michael Shannon, who I am a big fan of but his performance is... questionable, at best. Again, the ill-fitting dialogue did not help. Elsewhere, Veronica Ferres tries and is likeable but... yeah, not good. At least the Arancibia kids add some charm to things. Those children are put into the film around the middle and somehow (nothing bad on them, just their characters) stay until the very end. Those scenes with them, and Ferres' Laura, are sweet in isolation (pardon the pun), but wow do they feel entirely out of place and disconnected (pardon the p...) to everything that proceeds - to the point that the sweetness drains away. ½* always feels harsh to me, yet this is very much deserving of that rating in my opinion. Dire stuff, even at just around 90 minutes. The kids and the neat locations are all I've got by way of positives.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

stephen k

Literally unwatchable. Herzog should be ashamed of himself for stooping so low

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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william k

Despite an interesting cast (including physicist Lawrence Krauss!) and admittedly great landscape cinematography this Werner Herzog adventure disappoints with lame performances and a pretentious, uninspired plot with a failed message.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Intriguing multilevel parable of hubris and humility and their various intersections that only becomes deeper and more profound as the narrative progresses. Some finely controlled comic relief, and the inversion of the immoral baddie trope, as well as scenes of candid and genuine compassion, involve and intrigue the viewer. The depth of the allusions made is underscored by the scant and even flippant off-handedness with which they are revealed. Understated, and largely misunderstood, by the look of many other reviews.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Terrible movie, do not watch.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Werner Herzog

Director

Veronica Ferres

Laura Sommerfeld

Michael Shannon

Matt Riley

Gael García Bernal

Dr. Fabio Cavani

Volker Michalowski

Dr. Arnold Meier

Lawrence Krauss

Aristidis

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Salt and Fire: Trailer 1

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Elena Lazic

Little White Lies

... sure enough Herzog's continued thematic exploration of the often fraught cohabitation between man and nature comes through.

Sep 14, 2017

Full Review

Nick Allen

RogerEbert.com

Looking just like a dressed-up Neil Breen joint, Salt and Fire becomes, at its best, Herzog's version of camp; at its worst, unwitting self-parody.

Rated: 1/4

Apr 7, 2017

Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Like something you peer at rather than absorb, "Salt and Fire" is both awful and a tad fascinating.

Apr 6, 2017

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

If the film is a failure, it fails in the most fascinating, admirable, and lyrical ways.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Leigh Monson

Substream Magazine

The title has it backwards. The proper treatment of Salt and Fire is to burn it to nothing and salt the ashes.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 24, 2020

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

Audiences Everywhere

Though his documentaries remain as vital as any in his career, Salt and Fire signals the further deterioration of Werner Herzog as a narrative filmmaker.

Rated: D+

Dec 27, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

A shady businessman abducts a scientist in Bolivia and leaves her stranded in the middle of gigantic salt flats with two blind boys.

Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Wayne Marc Godfrey, Gregory McLachlan, Ben Sachs, Max Adler, Gael García Bernal, James Ashley-Turner Hall, Robert Jones, Diego Luna, Fabian Glubrecht
Screenwriter: Werner Herzog, Tom Bissell
Distributor: XLrator Media
Production Co: Canana Films, Benaroya Pictures, Construction Film, Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Arte
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 7, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2017
Runtime: 1h 38m

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