The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft

Play trailer

The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft

2022

1h 21m

Biography

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Mt. Unzen, Kyushu, Japan. At 3:18pm, on June 3rd 1991, a pyroclastic flow -- a cloud of superheated gases and particles -- descended at over 100mph from the peak of the volcano, consuming everything in its path. It instantly killed Katia and Maurice Krafft, volcanologists and filmmakers from the Alsace region in France. They were too close. They were almost always too close. On the day before they died, Maurice said in an interview: "I am never afraid, because I've seen so many eruptions in 25 years that, even if I die tomorrow, I don't care." The Kraffts left an archive of over 200 hours of footage, unprecedented in its spectacular and hypnotic beauty. Werner Herzog who had access to the entire archive, created a film that cannot be categorized. It is not a biography. It is a rather a requiem celebrating the legacy of Katia and Maurice Krafft.

Anita Singh

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The Kraffts documented their work in hundreds of hours of film; Herzog’s role here is to edit it down, overlaying the other-worldly images with haunting music and his own narration. And what images they are.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 18, 2022

Full Review

Carlos Esquives

Cinencuentro

The director, besides feeling drawn by the chaotic beauty of nature, has a profound weakness for those he identifies as equals... Those who put mortality aside to focus on the poetry that is conceived between calm and destruction. [Full review in Spanish]

Sep 19, 2023

Full Review

Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

This documentary did a better job of acknowledging that there were Japanese who died with the Kraffts that 'Love of Fire,' but doesn't consult with Japanese volcanologist or witnesse even though they died in Japan.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 26, 2022

Full Review

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Stuff.co.nz

Even in the destruction of all things, there is something beautiful to be found.

Dec 15, 2022

Full Review

Laslo Rojas Contreras

Cinencuentro

The director is attracted to nature's chaotic beauty and has a deep weakness for those he identifies as his equals: The romantic subjects who disregard mortality... [Herzog's film] is a tribute to that kind of adventurer. [Full review in Spanish]

Dec 2, 2022

Full Review

Rory O'Connor

The Film Stage

In tone and sentiment, The Fire Within and Fire of Love are disparate yet nicely complimentary, and there’s fun to be had in such a clash of sensibilities.

Rated: B+

Nov 25, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Raphael G

Even better than Fire of Love, more truthful to the volcano images and their beauty.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Werner Herzog

Director

Werner Herzog

Narrator

Katia Krafft

Self

Maurice Krafft

Self

Werner Herzog

Screenwriter

Julien Dumont

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes

34%

27%

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes

Watchlist

Lyra

100%

%

Lyra

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Lyra

The Ghost of Richard Harris

100%

%

The Ghost of Richard Harris

Watchlist

Loving Highsmith

72%

%

Loving Highsmith

Watchlist

Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee

67%

39%

Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Mt. Unzen, Kyushu, Japan. At 3:18pm, on June 3rd 1991, a pyroclastic flow -- a cloud of superheated gases and particles -- descended at over 100mph from the peak of the volcano, consuming everything in its path. It instantly killed Katia and Maurice Krafft, volcanologists and filmmakers from the Alsace region in France. They were too close. They were almost always too close. On the day before they died, Maurice said in an interview: "I am never afraid, because I've seen so many eruptions in 25 years that, even if I die tomorrow, I don't care." The Kraffts left an archive of over 200 hours of footage, unprecedented in its spectacular and hypnotic beauty. Werner Herzog who had access to the entire archive, created a film that cannot be categorized. It is not a biography. It is a rather a requiem celebrating the legacy of Katia and Maurice Krafft.

Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Julien Dumont, Alexandre Soullier, Peter Lown
Screenwriter: Werner Herzog
Genre: Biography, Documentary
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 21m