Critics’ reviews

Fire of Love (2022)

21 reviews from 21 publications. Critics’ score 79: 19 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative.

Back to our review of Fire of Love

79
Positive
19
Mixed
2
Negative
0
The AV Club
8 July 2022 · A- · Brent Simon
90

The critic calls it a gorgeous and affecting documentary that captures the beauty and danger of the natural world through the volcanologists' marriage and self-shot footage. Singles out the masterful editing of the archival material and the score.

Read the full review →
The New York Times
6 July 2022 · Critic's Pick · A.O. Scott
90*

Sara Dosa's documentary captures the Kraffts as co-authors of their story through their own spectacular footage of volcanoes. It is a haunting romance shadowed by tragedy that preserves their idiosyncratic presence.

Read the full review →
Empire
29 July 2022 · Ella Kemp
85*

The film is a poignant and illuminating tribute to the Kraffts, honouring their determined lives and loves with curiosity and care. It lends tenderness and poetry to the archive footage while highlighting their ambition and intelligence.

Read the full review →
Financial Times
28 July 2022 · Danny Leigh
85*

Dosa brings wit and style to a madly compelling profile of the Kraffts that springs surprises with its narration and visual approach. Sadness is not the dominant flavour; instead the film smiles through their adventures from the start.

Read the full review →
RogerEbert.com
6 July 2022 · Matt Zoller Seitz
85*

The film is a visually poetic documentary about the Kraffts' shared obsession with volcanoes and each other. It stands out for its total-cinema approach that creates an aesthetic vibe around their archive footage and lives.

Read the full review →
Variety
21 January 2022 · festival review · Owen Gleiberman
85*

Sara Dosa's documentary showcases the most spectacular volcano footage ever shot while telling the moving story of the Kraffts. It is an amazing, romantic portrait of obsession touched with lyricism.

Read the full review →
Evening Standard
29 July 2022 · Tamara Davison
80*

The documentary is a tragic, cinematic, poetic smorgasbord that reminds viewers of humanity’s delicate relationship with nature through the Kraffts’ story. It singles out the couple’s childlike playfulness and delight in the power of volcanoes for praise.

Read the full review →
Los Angeles Times
5 July 2022 · Justin Chang
80*

The visually entrancing film chronicles the Kraffts' magnificent obsession with volcanoes and each other. It uses their archive to forge a clear narrative that moves from romantic comedy to somber reflection.

Read the full review →
Radio Times
★★★★ · Jamie Healy
80

The critic praises the extraordinary archive footage and Sara Dosa's celebratory portrait of the couple's explosive romance and scientific dedication. Miranda July's poetic narration and quirky animated sequences are noted as lovely cinematic touches.

Read the full review →
The Hollywood Reporter
20 January 2022 · festival review · Daniel Fienberg
80*

The critic praises the gorgeously photographed and dreamily constructed portrait of the volcanologists' doomed love story and their footage. Singles out the astonishing archival footage and the poetic narration.

Read the full review →
Time Out
4 July 2022 · ★★★★ · Dave Calhoun
80

The critic describes the documentary as spectacular and thrilling, an elemental tribute to obsession and human powerlessness before nature. Miranda July's dreamy voiceover and the couple's daring footage are singled out for creating a sense of wonder.

Read the full review →
Slant Magazine
8 April 2022 · Pat Brown
75*

The critic notes that the film confidently oscillates between the playfully on the nose and the existentially profound in its treatment of nature as both romantic symbol and existential force. Singles out the archival footage and Miranda July's narration for creating a dreamy yet probing portrait.

Read the full review →
The Guardian
27 July 2022 · Peter Bradshaw
75*

The film embraces the mythology of the Kraffts as passionate lovers of each other and volcanoes who died together in the 1991 Mount Unzen disaster. It celebrates their countercultural spirit and daring work but suggests it underplays elements of a danger or death cult compared to Herzog's approach.

Read the full review →
Screen Daily
21 January 2022 · festival review
70*

The critic finds Dosa's approach modest and sensitive in its tribute to the volcanologists, awed by both the volcanoes' beauty and the couple's risk-taking. July's narration is noted as sometimes lending a precious quality, but the archival materials and human-interest angle are strengths.

Read the full review →
The Telegraph
28 July 2022
70*

Dosa crafts an elegantly awestruck tribute to the Kraffts using their spectacular footage, giving the eccentric couple an Anderson-esque treatment. The film renders their lifelong quest with ravishing coffee-table allure but does not deeply probe their relationship or demise.

Read the full review →
The Times
29 July 2022 · ★★★★☆ · Kevin Maher
70*

This expansive documentary about the Kraffts is furiously compelling as a dreamy tone poem and scientific inquiry drawn from their archive footage. Sensitive narration by Miranda July asks huge questions about love and relationships in the face of death, though the couple's demise confers a sickening weight.

Read the full review →
Little White Lies
25 July 2022 · 4/3/3 · David Jenkins
60

The critic calls the film a slick and moving portrait of the monomaniacal couple but finds the romantic thesis overly ornate and hollow, with the voiceover narration feeling affected. The incredible landscape footage is highlighted as a strength.

Read the full review →
Sight and Sound
7 February 2022 · festival review
50*

The critic finds the archive footage of volcanoes mesmerising but faults the film's storytelling for failing to fully develop the Kraffts as characters or realise the material's visual potential. Miranda July's narration is praised as magnificent.

Read the full review →
HeyUGuys
22 January 2022 · ★★★★★ · Ty Cooper
100

The critic praises the film's stunning volcanic footage and how it lets viewers appreciate nature's power like the Kraffts did; highlights the mesmerizing visuals over heavy messaging.

Read the full review →
Eye for Film
3 February 2022 · ★★★★½ · Amber Wilkinson
90

Praises the stunning footage bringing nature to life and the quirky, informative approach to the couple's work and relationship.

Read the full review →
/Film
21 January 2022 · 9/10 · Ben Pearson
90

Calls it a mesmerizing account using incredible archival footage; singles out the hypnotic lava visuals and the human story of the couple.

Read the full review →

Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate