One principle that I try and employ daily is to live a life so unpredictable, adventurous and interesting that Werner Herzog will one day be compelled to make one of his overly dramatic but achingly beautiful (and occasionally very funny) documentaries about it. We’d all be far more interesting if we lived by such a rule, especially since we’re discussing a director who has been producing works, both narrative and non-fiction, for over half a century, nearly all of them brilliant in their own right, and indicative of his immense talent and undeniable versatility. His documentaries in particular hold a very special place in film history since he stands as one of the pioneers of a more immersive experience when it comes to telling these stories, placing the viewer alongside him in these thorough, detailed accounts of some of the most extraordinary individuals and their surroundings. His most recent subjects are a pair of volcanologists in The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft, in which he explores the lives and career of the titular duo, a married couple that dedicated their lives to studying volcanoes, and ultimately perished together, doing what they loved, in what is often considered a truly unconventionally romantic story, an example of death being almost poetic rather than purely tragic – and while some may be unnecessarily flippant in romanticizing their death as some ethereal event, Herzog instead seeks to find the balance, crafting a detailed but also achingly beautiful account of their lives, paying tribute to his couple who spent their lives going in search of not only elusive knowledge that has helped contribute to a natural occurence that is by definition unpredictable and continues to challenge scientists, but also capturing the striking beauty of the natural world, especially in situations that would normally inspire fear in those who don’t quite grasp the grandeur and spectacle that is produced by our environment.

What has always been fascinating about Herzog’s documentaries is how he has never appeared as someone who makes these films for the sake of meeting a quota or following the instructions of anyone else. He chooses subjects that fascinate him, and crafts films around their stories, meaning that we not only get glimpses into his unique directorial style, but also his fascinating curiosities, especially since he tends to unearth stories that many of us would have only heard in the form of anecdotes (if we even heard of them at all, since some of his subjects are truly obscure, and would have likely stayed that way had it not been for his efforts to tell their stories), bringing to life details that would have likely remained dormant had he not invested his time in exploring them. Maurice and Katia Krafft were not necessarily obscure – they were even the subjects of another documentary earlier this year that is entirely unrelated to Herzog’s film (thus making it a case of coincidence that we received two very strong documentaries on the same subject), but considering how much of Herzog’s work is about finding the balance between human beings and their surroundings, it seemed inevitable that Maurice and Katia would eventually become subjects, and he expends as much energy in telling their story as he would any other figures, showing his profound fascination with their perilous adventures, as well as a connection with the deeper themes that defined their lives and work. The Fire Within is as much an exploration of their story as it is a celebration of their lives, a moving and vivid depiction of a pair of scientists who dedicated their lives to finding beauty and nuance in the destruction, helping in our overall understanding of vulcanology, and also simply voyaged off into distant lands to satisfy their insatiable desire for adventure. It’s not surprising that Herzog draws a brief correlation between the Kraffts and Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who essentially set the blueprint for those who found pleasure in venturing into untrodden territory for the sake of simply saying that they conquered the natural world in some small way, which is a desire not many can attest to feeling – and for Maurice and Katia, it wasn’t only an urge, but an active, carnal craving for adventure.

There is a theme that flows through many of the director’s films, both non-fiction and narrative, that often makes them quite distinct. Herzog seems to have a profound fascination for the natural world, but as shown through the perspective of the individuals who set out to explore it. It’s difficult to characterize any of his works as nature documentaries in the traditional sense since they’re always shown through the perspective of the people who spent their lives surrounded by nature, rarely setting out to conquer it, but rather becoming part of a world outside of the bustling metropolis that many views as the peak of civilization. There is something almost feral about how Herzog views the natural world, his profound fascination with our planet is reflected in so many of these documentaries. He is particularly inspired by stories that focus on extraordinary individuals who acknowledge how the natural world is unconquerable, but do their best to unearth some of its secrets, not to disturb the balance, but rather to make it accessible to those of us who aren’t as adventurous, showing us the intimidating beauty of our world. Herzog has an interest in demonstrating the undeniable insignificance of humanity in comparison with the indestructible, enormous scope of nature, which is far more powerful than our modern sensibilities normally allow us to believe. In focusing on a pair of individuals who both acknowledged and challenged their smallness in comparison to the subject they dedicated their life to exploring, Herzog creates a beautiful elegy to their lives, showing in vivid detail their exploits over the few decades in which they were active, while also attempting to understand their desire to continuously put themselves in danger – the fascination with individuals who seem to possess some unique trait that makes them so inclined towards perilous adventure is one of the components that fuel many of his documentaries, and while he acknowledges that we may never know precisely what impelled people like Maurice and Katia to make such dangerous journeys, the point is not rationalizing their decision, but trying to see the world through their perspective – and for the most part, Herzog is quite successful, crafting an unforgettable film in their memory.

From the first moments, Herzog makes it very clear that his intention was not to make an extensive biography about Maurice and Katia, and that The Fire Within was going to aim to be something entirely different than just a conventional documentary about their life and death, and the incredible professional and personal partnership that occurred in between. There are numerous sojourns in this film where we see Herzog momentarily step away from Maurice and Katia, and instead sets his attention on a few related stories around volcanic destruction, perhaps as a way of contextualizing precisely how dangerous such endeavours can be. Particularly disturbing is his depiction of the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz, in which nearly three-quarters of the population of this small Colombian town was killed by the pyroclastic flow, one of the most destructive natural disasters of the past fifty years. The intentions the director had were peculiar – we aren’t even sure if he was aiming to showcase the beauty of volcanoes or explore their undeniable danger and how they have caused the loss of countless lives and destroyed entire communities. The answer is most likely that Herzog was aiming to do both – and the imagery is both terrifying and beautiful. His choice to mainly use footage taken by Maurice and Katia themselves was smart since it allowed us to see the world through their perspective, but it also allowed him to focus not on their reasoning for engaging in these dangerous voyages, but rather on the images they captured. There are long stretches in The Fire Within where we are confronted with images of volcanic eruption and the pyroclastic flow, set to the beautiful and ethereal choirs that form the score of the film. It gives the film a timeless quality, showing that these volcanoes have existed long before we gained consciousness, and will be here long after we leave – and for people like Katia and Maurice, they may have perished tragically, but did so living their lives as they intended, which makes it difficult to lament their loss, since not many people can die doing what they love, which is ultimately the element that makes their story so beautiful and heartbreaking.

The story of Katia and Maurice Krafft entails everything that we’d expect to be fascinating to Herzog and thus impelled him to make a film about their lives – it contains danger, romance and a profound admiration for the natural world (especially in terms of focusing on individuals that were not delusional enough to believe that they could command nature, a bizarre sentiment far too many people tend to believe), almost to the point where their endeavours seem to have been driven by a deeper philosophical desire to capture the beauty of the natural world and feel the subsequent sensation of self-fulfilment and joy that comes with realizing the true scope of the world that surrounds them. It is a film that requires us to get on its wavelength, since it doesn’t give us all the answers we seek (as said previously, Herzog was not interested in a comprehensive biography of their lives), but rather establishes itself as a film intent on celebrating the natural world and its many enigmatic secrets. Herzog has made several documentaries throughout his incredibly long and storied career, and this is certainly not his pinnacle, especially since there are several elements here that he explored more effectively in other films. However, it is a thorough examination of its titular subjects, whose lives may be defined by their death, which is mostly condensed to anecdotes on the subject of how they perished together, deeply in love and engaging in their life’s purpose – and while there is limited material from which Herzog and his team can extract details, the overall experience is thorough and very meaningful, and proves that, even at his most simple, he is a director capable of such intricate and meaningful commentary, and that the combination of unforgettable imagery and a poetic approach to the story of the subjects can make for a profound and meaningful experience.