La Soufrière

La Soufriere is with the appendage-title "Waiting for the Inevitable Catastrophe", and it's crucial that the word 'waiting' is in there. I'd imagine much of the film would be the same if the volcano had erupted, albeit at the risk of Herzog and his two cameramen's lives. But what remains of what didn't happen, of the volcano's eruption, holds its own fascination for Herzog, wherein seeing the sights of the mountain, of the smoke rising and every present around the area of the Guadaloupe island, and showing the history of a nearby volcano and a sudden appearance of the hanger-ons to the island at the time, is just as fulfilling as if it actually happened, if not more-so in a perverse way. Herzog is taken for granted as being a filmmaker who looks for people with obsessions, of the dangers of nature and livelihood, of the madness that environment brings out, but unlike a film like Lessons of Darkness or Wild Blue Yonder Herzog isn't able here to manipulate- as far as how it might fit a different context in his unique form of "non-fiction" film-making, La Soufriere is a bit more objective, to a degree he allows at any rate.

It's this collision of Herzog's own subjective fascination and fear of the volcano, and the simple 'here's what's happening' facts of the deserted village, that makes La Sofriere a work that almost comments on Herzog's own obsessions as a filmmaker, though not quite. It would work totally for someone who's never seen a Herzog film, I think, as in essence its the telling of a basic story where nature is on the verge of chaos, which is not something that is hard to find on a National Geographic special (although they, most likely, would have the volcano exploding at the end). But for fans, or just those who know the director's methods with his real-life subjects, one sees him perhaps going too far, which is part of the fun: at one point he bypasses the government-set road blocks and then is out of the car in a panic as the volcano rumbles, waving the car to get out of the shot as he has a truly petrified look on his face. And the shots of the mountainside itself are vintage Herzog, maybe a given due to the subject matter, set to somber classical music and more contemplative than anything on the nature of, well, nature.

The latter of this extends to the interviews with the people who've decided to stay on the island even if it means certain death. The subjects, maybe to a more clear and personally accepting reason, don't mind, and are not afraid of death (the poor one, who has nothing and can't even get off the island anyway, is fine with it as it is "God's will"). Herzog tends to stick with these guys for a good chunk of the film, which leads to a little distracting side-note with one of the villagers singing(?), but it's a captivating chunk all the same as we see men who are possibly as crazy as Herzog, though with many more years of experience (and other natural weather disasters like typhoons) that they've lived through anyway. Herzog mentions that the social situation, of the disenfranchised left on the island, are what he still thinks about after the threat has ended and things go back to normal and the volcano is forgotten. But I wonder if he might think about himself in what is supposed to be inevitable chaos, and how the alleviation of it only leads him to seek other ventures (ala the making of Fitzcarraldo) that spell just as much peril, if not more on his own psychological state.

It's a stark statement that is mostly underlying in the film, and aside from that aspect La Soufriere is a worthwhile story to tell about the nature of a society near a volcano (i.e. the town on the Martinique island in 1902), and what it looks like no-holds-barred.

I love Herzog. I love travel movies, and I love documentaries. Anybody who is into "abandoned porn" would love this. The abandoned city seemed like a dream for a zombie film maker back in the day. Now computers could probably do it, but to see a whole city deserted like that, especially with the volcanic smoke in the background, truly was apocalyptic.

The conversations with the people left behind were a little hard to follow, but still interesting. If a guy has nowhere to go, why should he leave? It's his home and, in the end, the volcano didn't interrupt after all. Vindication if there ever was.

Check it out. It's only 30 minutes anyway.

When word that La Soufriere, a volcano, was about to explode Werner Herzog dropped everything and ran off to try and find the one inhabitant of the small island that didn't leave. Scientists were expecting an explosion of catastrophic proportions and fled themselves. When Herzog and his camera men arrived on the island they were greeted by a eerily silent landscape and a sense of impending doom. The film that resulted from Herzog's trip is strange viewing experience. As Herzog remarks its as if he were dropped into a science fiction movie where everyone in the world has disappeared but the electric, phones and TVs still worked. Its a place where thousands of snakes fled the rumbling mountain by going into the ocean while the only humans around spend time getting closer to the danger. Its an odd experience as we watch and wait for what we are told is inevitable....

Herzog has made a film of stark beauty that is also deeply disturbing. There is something about it that is not quite right. Of course it has to do with the fact that the film is like real life Waiting for Godot, we are waiting for the end that never comes, despite all the signs. Its an unnerving proposition that messes with your head, but in a good way. Its 30 minutes well spent.

Minor phreatic eruptions of the volcano La Soufriere in 1976 resulted in Basse-Terre,the island's capital city being evacuated as a precaution.Whilst Guadeloupe was almost entirely deserted by its citizens the German filmmaker Werner Herzog traveled to the abandoned town of Basse-Terre to find a peasant who had refused to leave his home on the slopes of the volcano.His journey is recorded "La Soufrière"-eerie and poignant documentary about death and abandonment.The crew of three creatively insane filmmakers treks up to the caldera,where clouds of sulfurous steam and ash emit from within.Pure harbingers of death.Herzog converses with three poor men,who stayed in Basse-Terre:one says he is waiting for death and demonstrates his posture for doing so;another says he has stayed to look after the animals.They are all not afraid of dying.Fortunately paroxysmal eruption never happened,but we have to remember that there is no escape from death and loneliness.8 out of 10.

Werner Herzog's documentary 'La Soufrière' captures the tense anticipation of an impending volcanic eruption on the island of Guadeloupe, as the filmmaker and his crew risk their lives to document the event. Although the eruption never came, the film remains a fascinating meditation on human mortality and ecological disaster, revealing Herzog's unwavering dedication to capturing the elusive cinematic sublime. While the lack of a violent climax adds an element of self-mockery to the final product, 'La Soufrière' remains a must-watch for film enthusiasts seeking a potent exploration of the intersection between human curiosity and natural danger.