There Is No Reason To Remake Fire Of Love, A Perfect Documentary You Can Watch Right Now
Documentary filmmaking is a special kind of art. It is one thing to write, produce, and release a narrative film, but making a documentary feels entirely different and more fluid. Such is the case with 2022's "Fire of Love," director Sara Dosa's look at the lives of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft made almost entirely from their personal collection of research footage. Narrated by Miranda July, we get to see their love story, both with each other and their shared passion for volcanoes, play out over the course of several decades.
It really is a stunning and beautiful documentary, which means, naturally, that it's being remade into a narrative film. Deadline announced that Searchlight Pictures will be adapting "Fire of Love" into a theatrical feature with Dosa serving as a producer. A director and screenwriter are currently not attached, and if we're being honest, we hope they are never found. The idea of "Fire of Love" being remade sounds absolutely ridiculous, especially since you can easily watch the immersive and romantic story right now on streaming.
When you could die at any moment, what do you leave behind?
The fact that "Fire of Love" is almost entirely told through archival footage shot by Katia and Maurice is what makes it such a fascinating watch. As the movie progresses, you are subconsciously reminded that, yes, the volcanos on screen are real and they're both extremely dangerous and beautiful. Short of dropping its actors on an active volcano and putting them threateningly close to actual spewing lava, as the Kraffts actually did, no live-action remake would be able to accurately reflect the jaw-dropping wonder of "Fire of Love."
That alluring danger of physically being at the source of these unimaginable natural phenomena was at the forefront of the couple's research — how can something so magical come from the Earth, and what makes it so volatile? These are questions Katia and Maurice struggled with, fueling their insatiable quest for knowledge. However, simply writing down their ideas and observations wasn't enough. They needed to document them on film so they could share the magic of volcanos with the rest of the world.
The original is right there
Thankfully, "Fire of Love" is just one easily accessible example of the Kraffts' knowledge. It is currently available to stream on Disney+, having been picked up by National Geographic Documentary Films and Neon after its 2022 Sundance premiere. Given how National Geographic is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company just like Searchlight Pictures, it really doesn't make sense to have two different movies on the exact same subject living under the same corporate umbrella. This is especially true given how the original is still so new and accessible.
It is one thing to reinvigorate interest in an older and maybe inaccessible documentary through a narrative remake, but it's something else entirely to do the same for a new one that is easily watchable. A "Fire of Love" remake just sounds like an unnecessary cash grab that wouldn't be able to capture the magic of the original documentary. Yes, a bigger budget movie with A-list actors may teach a larger audience about the Kraffts and their work, but why settle for a facsimile when you can go straight to the source?