Genius is typically regarded as a solitary pursuit. But that wasn’t the case for Katia and Maurice. “Alone they can only dream of volcanoes,” goes a line in the movie, narrated by Miranda July. “Together, they can reach them.”
Together, they were able to do everything. “It was really their partnership that supported each other to pursue this epic dream,” Fire of Love director Sara Dosa told me. “Their collaborators would talk about how, even though they were very different people, it was through their constant collaboration that they could be at their strongest and support each other to live this life of love with this dangerous, alluring force.”
Dosa first discovered Katia and Maurice when she was looking for volcano footage for her Iceland-focused documentary The Seer & The Unseen. She and her team quickly realized that the two volcanologists had left behind a treasure trove of film and literature that told the story of their relationship as much as it did their favorite geological subject.
Both Maurice and Katia grew up in France in the aftermath of World War II. As young adults, they protested against the Vietnam War. In part, it was their disillusionment with humanity that caused them to retreat into nature. When they did rejoin our world, it was often with the aim of getting the public to understand and respect volcanoes. In the 70s and 80s, they achieved an unlikely fame as pop scientists, frequently appearing on television in France and across Europe.
“They’re savvy science communicators who really knew how to drive in wide audiences to become curious about the planet. And that was ultimately their goal. Part of their savviness was performing versions of themselves,” Dosa said. “They knew how to develop their own characters, knowing that if people were interested in them, they could then be a conduit to being interested in the earth, in volcanos, and understand the mysteries that surround us all.”
Maurice enjoyed the performance aspect. Katia, who was often confronted with sexism, less so. “There’s one notable clip in our research that we came across where Maurice was introduced at this science roundtable. And the announcer’s like, ‘Here with us today is legendary volcanologist and adventurer Maurice Kraft … and his wife Katia.’ You can just see her jaw tightening,” Dosa shared. “And Katia had seen more active volcanoes than Maurice. That was a playful thing that they would joke about in the relationship, about how Katia would ‘cheat’ on Maurice with volcanoes because she had seen more. It was their way of deflecting something that was actually painful for Katia.”
Their outfits—whether the silver volcanic protection suits or the Zissou-esque red beanies—were not entirely unintentional either. “I think it fits into their idea of seeing themselves as savvy storytellers. They knew how to costume themselves,” Dosa said. “There’s utility to the silver suits, there’s a utility to having those bright red hats. But I think they knew that if people connected to the way they styled themselves and presented themselves and told their stories, they could then enter into their worlds in this playful, fun, whimsical way that overall serves their mission of inviting people to learn about the planet.”
I wondered if Dosa, whose documentary work typically deals with the relationship between humans and nature, had her perspective on romance altered in any way while telling Katia and Maurice’s story.
“One thing that I think that is so beautiful about Katia and Maurice is they’ve really taught me about who you walk with in this life,” she said. “The fact that they found each other and were able to, through their partnership, support this dreamlike, bold, adventurous, deeply meaningful life, and it was due to their partnership that enabled that—there’s something so beautiful about that.”
And, in a way, the most romantic aspect comes back to our planet. “There’s one quote that Maurice said that isn’t in the film: When he sees a rock, he sees ‘a life and a memory,’” Dosa said. “He knows the whole rock life cycle and he can see that in something that so many people would just see as inert or dead or not alive. When you can see the entire earth as alive or possessing a life cycle, you can enter into a relationship, so to speak. And that’s taught me a lot about love, and love for the earth.”
Gabriella Paiella
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