Documentary 'Fire of Love' is a lava-fueled romance you have to see to believe

Love between Katia and Maurice Krafft burned hot. It gave them life. It gave them purpose. Eventually, it consumed them. But how many lovers can we say died simultaneously pursuing their shared passion? The jocular Maurice liked to quip that he and Katia were like the volcanoes they gravitated toward on a moment’s notice: volatile, unpredictable and as fluid as the scorching lava that metaphorically pulsed through their veins. It was a romance like no other. Thirty-one years after they left the Earth they so cherished, the couple are posthumously sharing their special bond via the plethora of awe-inspiring footage they left behind.

It’s aptly titled “Fire of Love,” and as constructed by filmmaker Sara Dosa (“The Last Season”), it erupts into an explosion of fatal beauty. Not just a movie, it’s an experience that instantly grabs your attention and won’t let go, taking us to the edge of nature’s fiercest force and its paradoxical function of creation through destruction. It’s what volcanoes do. And witnessing those fiery eruptions is what attracts Katia and Maurice to the spectacle that ultimately will be their demise.

Yet, their deaths are not the focal point. Rather, it’s how the two lived, believing it’s better to savor a short life of risk and adventure than suffer a long one of monotony. Katia was 49, Maurice 45, when their daring got the better of them in June 1991 on Japan’s Mount Unzen. Thanks to Dosa and her superb editors, Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput, their work lives on through a captivating collection of photos, footage and television appearances that bring Katia and Maurice vividly back to life.

'Brutal and barbaric': Marshfield writer tells true story of Cape Cod killer in 'Helltown'

Because much of what the couple caught on film is silent, Dosa employs a narrator to fill us in on what we’re observing. That task is deftly executed by actress-filmmaker Miranda July, whose calm, ethereal voice perfectly harmonizes with the film’s hushed yet celebratory tone. Her poetic reflections are as dreamlike as the dazzling volcanoes we watch explode up close and personal. It’s truly something to behold, and must be seen on a large screen to fully appreciate the force and majesty of a mountain detonating.

The uninitiated, like me, learn there are two types of volcanoes: the relatively safe “red” variety in which molten lava flows in a gorgeous ribbon like a meandering river; and the deadly “gray” one that expels huge plumes of smoke and debris reminiscent of the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11.  It was the latter classification that Katia and Maurice became most drawn to in the end. These devastating explosions are nature’s version of the nuclear bomb, with zero chance for survival if you are in the wrong location, as Katia and Maurice were on June 3, 1991.

Cohasset: Jon Hamm comedy 'Confess, Fletch' set for September release

The aftermath is an invaluable legacy. Confronted with the couple’s frightening footage, skeptical public officials the world over were persuaded to finally enact life-saving evacuation procedures when faced with these cataclysmic events. In a sense, the couple unknowingly died in the name of human preservation, which I found quite noble, albeit a bit mad. Watching Katia and Maurice rush into these infernos confirms their fearlessness, if not foolhardiness. Perhaps that’s why early on they decided not to have children.

In a way, it’s kind of sad, but it’s doubtful the couple could have loved anyone more than they did each other. Their union was arguably preordained. After all, what are the odds of two obsessive volcanologists being born just miles apart in Alsace at nearly the same time, and then finding each other, falling in love and dedicating their too-short lives to solving some of geology's epic mysteries.

Hurrah!: 'Love and Thunder' is a totally unhinged 'classic Thor adventure'

It cost them their lives, but there’s solace in the knowledge they likely died with no regrets, undoubtedly in each other’s arms, doing the one thing they loved almost as much as one another. Like the stopped watch found near their bodies, Katia and Maurice remain frozen in time, living on in spirit long after their clock ran out.

'Fire of Love'

Rating: Brief smoking, thematic material, some unsettling images.

Narrator: Miranda July.

Director: Sara Dosa.

Run time: 97 minutes.

Where to watch: In theaters July 22.

Grade: A.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. Please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Sundance hit documentary 'Fire of Love' is a lava-fueled romance