A British-Austrian documentary; Filmmaker Werner Herzog observes some of the most beautiful and terrifying wonders of the natural world - the volcano - with his signature blend of curiosity and insight. He travels round the world, to Indonesia, Ethiopia, Iceland and North Korea to explore the effect volcanos have on their population and culture and myths. The film is significant for showing a fresh insight into life in North Korea, and a fascinating insight into the fossil hunting of early humankind in the shadow of the volcano. The primordial aspect of molten lava flow and lava explosions captured on film are extraordinary and at times unsettling, such was the danger to the cameramen and the vertigo from enormous backdrops of crimson fury.
The film meanders from one location to another and unconventional in its narrative and narration. Herzog's storytelling style is not easily pinned down, though he never loses sight of one constant here: human awe for the primeval and the elemental.
