By Lara Thain

In the intimate cellar of Aikman’s bar, every seat is filled and the sound of footsteps can be heard from above. Grainy footage is projected onto a white sheet showing volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft. The film playing is Fire of Love, directed by Sara Dosa, and one thing becomes apparent: Katia and Maurice love each other just as much as they love volcanoes.

It quickly becomes clear why this documentary received an Oscar nomination: you can’t help but feel infinitesimal when faced with images of the spectacular eruptions which fuel the volcanologists’ passion. A passion they follow until the very end. The film introduces us to the young couple and laughter ripples through the crowd as Maurice makes dry jokes and as their journey to gain a deeper understanding of volcanoes is filled with mishaps – from broken-down cars to ripped pants. Maurice and Katia pull the audience into their passion for volcanoes with images showing them exploring Mount Etna and Stromboli that look like they came straight out of a 1960s sci-fi film.

The love that comes across from the spliced-together footage is nearly intoxicating, and, as the film documents how Maurice and Katia slowly rise to fame in the 1970s, they continue to travel from volcano to volcano and eruption to eruption. Nothing seems to dampen their love. However, as Katia and Maurice get closer and closer to such forces of nature, a sense of dread builds, echoed by ominous music. They capture every possible moment doing what they love, as they know these moments are ephemeral. What endures instead is their story and their love.

Despite the destruction and extreme forces of nature shown from the beginning of the footage, it is only in a few instances that Katia and Maurice waver in their journeys. A near-disastrous trip on a sulfuric acid lake and the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz seem to foreshadow the conclusion of their story.

Mount Unzen in Japan erupts in 1991 and, as with many other volcanic eruptions, Maurice and Katia are there to record and study it. Despite many close calls in the past, this is the moment where their passion takes a deadly turn. Maurice and Katia die next to each other, their last moments spent watching the eruption together. It feels inevitable and equally heartbreaking.

While Maurice and Katia go on a journey of love and volcanoes, Fire of Love takes the audience on a journey of their own. The striking visuals of geological processes do not feel clinical but human. Combining Katia and Maurice’s own film with historical footage, Sara Dosa captures a story about love instead of what easily could have been a cautionary tale. It moves viewers in a way that few documentaries do in such a successful and nuanced way. Fire of Love is certainly a pleasure to watch and was a perfect choice for the St Andrews Green Film Festival.

ST.ART Magazine does not own the rights to any of the images used in this article.