SIFF Says: How far would you go for science? What about love? Young volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft decided to forgo a traditional married lifestyle, instead dedicating two decades of their lives to studying and documenting volcanoes on a never-ending romantic getaway. Constructed mostly out of the archival footage shot by the French explorers as they travel the globe capturing footage of volcanoes as they erupt (including our own Mount St. Helens) from terrifyingly close proximity, director Sara Dosa (The Last Season, The Seer and the Unseen) steers us through the natural beauty and the intensely real dangers of their first-hand research. Katia and Maurice themselves look like they stepped out of a Wes Anderson movie, and perhaps they inspired him, with their matching explorer suits and caps. Along with their extensive volcano footage, the two playfully film each other gleefully tromping in front of the camera, showcasing their endless passion for what they do. Their mortality looms overhead as they get closer and closer to their true love, but as Maurice says, “It will kill me one day, but that does not bother me at all.”

Stranger Says: Fire of Love is composed purely of archival footage, most of which was shot by Katia and Maurice on their travels to sites like Mount Stromboli in Italy, Nyiragongo in Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mount St. Helens in Washington. With their red caps and space age-lookin' heat suits, the Kraffts resemble characters in a Wes Anderson movie. Or perhaps the French New Wave is a better comparison—the couple's documentation of volcanoes often veered into the poetic and impressionistic, stitched together by Dosa to reflect not only the marvels of volcanoes but the power of love. But not in a cheesy way! JAS KEIMIG