Into the Inferno

Into the Inferno (2016)

*** (out of 4)

Werner Herzog narrates and directs this documentary, which takes a look at various volcanoes throughout the world.

I should probably start off by saying Herzog is one of my favorite filmmakers and he might be my favorite documentary filmmaker. INTO THE INFERNO was a rather interesting idea but I'm not quite sure how well the end product turned out. If you're expecting a straight documentary from the maverick filmmaker then I'm going to guess that you're unfamiliar with his work. He's created some true masterpieces but none of them play like you'd expect them to.

That's certainly true for this picture, which makes you believe that it's about volcanoes but you soon realize that the director is up to his bag of tricks and delivers more but I'll get into that in a bit. As far as the volcano stuff goes, it's extremely interesting to say the least. We're pretty much given a tour of the globe as we see various volcanoes as well as get to learn about their history and get to hear some stories about previous explosions. All of this stuff is brilliantly captured as the cinematography is downright terrific and the visual images of the lave are so beautiful that I could have easily watched them for hours.

With that said, the film is also about various thoughts on life and other issues. I freely admit that I didn't think this segment of the film worked and sadly there's a lot of this stuff and I think it really brought the film down. The sequences in North Korea are a prime example as we get to hear stories of how the people there are basically hostages to their leader. What does this stuff have to do with volcanoes? All of it really seems like it should have been left for a different documentary but, as I said, Herzog likes to mix things up but I just don't think it was a success here.

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.

A very beautiful documentary. Visually pleasing. The music is soothing and scary at times. Overall very entertaining as well.

I enjoyed the volcano parts. The right turns into cultural ideologies made no sense. Pick a topic already.

I skipped the boring parts! Which are all the parts that has nothing to do with volcanoes and eruptions so it becomes interesting and great show to me :)

The only part which is not about volcanoes and was really interesting is the one about North Korea and a little of the John From faith :) 👌🏻