Werner Herzog takes a deeper look into earth's volcanoes in 'Into the Inferno' (TIFF Review)
Yet again, Werner Herzog takes us to the most fascinating and remote places on earth, where volcanoes dominate the land.. and the people.
Herzog's fans know how he can capture an audience like no other. May it be with caves, grizzly bears, or in this case volcanoes. With the help of volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer, who he met making another film, he takes us around the world and through history, taking a look at the places where volcanoes dominate the land. Not just with the destruction they can cause, but with the belief systems they have produced as well.
We go from Indonesia, to North Korea, to Iceland, all with their own meanings for the natural phenomenon. And occasionally we go a bit off script as well, covering the bizarre propaganda of the North Korean leaders. Or when meeting the charismatic (and weirdly hilarious) paleoanthropologist Tim White, digging up a skeleton in Africa.
Sometimes it feels more like a Clive Oppenheimer film, when going into the scientific explanation of it all. But back to the impressive close-up images of volcanoes and lava, hearing the stark trademark German accent, we know who's movie we're watching.
It's all fascinating, but with the light history, the random myths people make up about the simply natural occurrence, and the multiple times we go off on a random sidetrack, 'Into the Inferno' doesn't seem as well-rounded as some of the director's other works. It's well worth the watch, but not as fully satisfying as we hoped.
'Into the Inferno' screened at #TIFF16 and will be released on Netflix on October 28.
