French scientists Maurice and Katia Krafft were brought together, and eventually killed, by their shared love of volcanoes.
Now the married couple are the subject of "Fire of Love," a new film constructed from hours of dazzling, terrifying and occasionally quirky footage they shot close to -- and even inside -- erupting craters.
Playing in a limited number of US theaters, the documentary from National Geographic and prestigious indie distributor Neon ("Parasite") is earning rave reviews and generating early awards buzz.
Director Sara Dosa first stumbled upon the pair's "spectacular imagery" while researching another documentary about Icelandic volcanoes -- but was drawn more to the "love that just radiates behind the lens, unlike anything else."
For 25 years, the Kraffts had traveled the world together in search of active volcanoes, writing some 20 books and making five feature films, plus countless television programs and lectures.
But they are perhaps best remembered today for their deaths side-by-side on Japan's Mount Unzen volcano, which erupted in 1991 after nearly two centuries dormant, sending a fatal cloud of gas and ash surging down its eastern flank.
"Fire of Love" begins and ends with this tragic information -- yet it spends the bulk of its running time on the "love triangle" between the couple and their lifelong obsession.
"Once we really learned about them as people... and the fact that they were married and also seemed to be in love with volcanoes -- that's when we thought, 'okay, we want to make a film of these people,'" Dosa told AFP.
"We wanted to tell kind of a mythic love story that was told through the language of volcanoes," she added.
"That's what drew them together in the first place, and that was the propulsive material, the fuel of their relationship."
