La Soufrière (1977) User Reviews

Waiting for an end that never comes on a beautiful island

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 9 January 2006]

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.

Gape in horror, gasp with relief.

[alice liddell · 8/10 · 29 September 1999]

Wonderful Herzog documentary, not least because it makes fun of his own certainties. The year is 1976, and the island of Guadaloupe is under a rumbling volcano. Herzog hears about how the town completely evacuated except for one man, and, being Herzog, flies out, with two cameramen, to meet him. Herzog has always had a rather tiring obsession with marginals of society, the dumb, the deaf, the wild, the insane, etc., anyone who refuses to live by society's conventions, but adamantly follows his own way, even if it is to destruction. This is tiring because this 'rebellion' is rarely chosen, or even conscious, and one gets the nagging feeling that Herzog is patronising his subjects, interpreting their pain for them, because they don't know any better.

So one's fears about the film are immediately raised as Herzog and friends helicopter into the island. But what he finds there is more like an episode of THE AVENGERS. There is something very frightening and eerie about an empty, abandoned town, prompting all kinds of disturbing fears. The traffic lights still flash, TVs are still on, donkeys roam the streets, on which lie dying, starving dogs. Snakes, fleeing from the imminent eruption, float drowned in the sea. There is not a boat or vehicle in sight in this coastal town. This is magnificent filmmaking, also reminiscent of Resnais' tracks in NUIT ET BROUILLARD through abandoned concentration camps.

Herzog then does typically loopy things, trying to get as far up the volcano as he can, only to be hilariously pushed back by toxic clouds. The man's hubris, usually so grating, is amusingly punctured here. To build up our fears, he relates the tale of nearby Martinique, whose volcano gave out the exact same warnings, and whose principle city was completely reduced to cinders, 20000 dying. Only one man survived, an incorrigible prisoner, locked in isolation. His burns made him a favorite on the freak-show circuit, and Herzog, somewhat suspectly, shows us photographs of him with his injuries, inviting us to join in the gawping.

I won't spoil what happens next, but Herzog's grand narrative of the epic, rebellion, the extremes of experience are give short shrift from Nature and Reality. But there's no denying the power of interviews with men just lying there waiting for 'God's will'. A great film, one of Herzog's best.

ironic but also very sincere about its subject at hand, it's Herzog being duped by his own daring, but still with lots to show for it

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 2 June 2007]

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.

The Potential, the Danger

[tedg · 28 April 2007]

What makes a movie worthwhile? Do you get whatever value is there while you watch it, or afterward. Is it always complex? Is it always a mix?

I think not. I am coming to the opinion that in addition to all the other variety in films we find, films are weighted differently in their strategies for what rewards the viewer.

An example of this are the films that are otherwise lackluster, but have a particularly intriguing ending. All they have to do is keep you from rebelling through the film, which is all about setting up that end. You wander out of the theater dazzled, and that is the experience you recall.

Other films are all weighted on the entry. The filmmaker takes us to strange and wonderful places. Its actually not difficult to create those places. What's difficult is getting us there in the first few moments of a film. The thrill is all in the beginning of these, and much of the charm of being a tourist in these strange environs is the fact that you are there at all.

I think there is a small catalog of these strategies, just as you can say that there are only a few of what we call genres, which in fact are a collection of conventions agreed upon between the makers and viewers. And which are used as shorthandles in the cinematic grammar.

One of these — the film reward types — are films that aren't compelling as films themselves, but the idea of the film is. Perhaps there are several types within this. I suspect so, one of them having to do with the nature and intent of the filmmaker. I have a small study of one sort of these, where the filmmaker (usually a man) features the woman he loves in the film. Knowing that changes everything.

Herzog may have invented his own type, or at least be the modern exemplar. I've spent some time recently with films about the antarctic, because of my fascination with Frank Hurley. He was a photographer/filmmaker who about 100 years ago accompanied Shackleton on an expedition to the south pole. Even if the journey had been successful, it would have been hard, incredibly hard. But it turned disastrous. The story is one of the most amazing in history, but during this whole time, Hurley kept his cameras active.

Seeing these are transformative because you know the man put himself in harms way, encountered danger and hardship and STILL took those photos (the movie camera being too heavy to keep). Its the IDEA of the photograph, not the things themselves.

Here we have Herzog. He hears that a volcano is to blow. An entire island has been evacuated, streetlights still operating, TeeVees still on. The mountain is seething. Scientists know an eruption exceeding a nuclear bomb is certain. They have the example of a neighboring island where just the same preface presaged disaster. What does Herzog do? Why rush there of course with two cameramen.

He breaks rules, he cheats, he sneaks past barriers to actually climb the mountain where if the wind is blowing right the acidic clouds won't dissolve his lungs. And he waits for the thing to blow. As it turns out it didn't. The mountain settled and the people resettled. But the very idea. It isn't the sort of journalism that war correspondents practice, where we really need to know and danger is involved. Its different.

Herzog went there because the story was in his going.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Admirable Salvage Work by Herzog

[st-shot · 8/10 · 23 November 2007]

What would a Werner Herzog film be without a crisis. In this case the star is a no show and rather than abandon the project Herzog finds a replacement and comes up with a different and satisfying ending in this slim documentary.

The Island of Guadalupe has been evacuated after scientists predict a massive volcanic eruption. Herzog and a crew of two set out for the island in search of a local who decided to stay. The abandoned town has a real eeriness to it, the only movement being a traffic light. They venture near the volcano and are driven off by toxic gases. They find those who stayed behind; they are unfazed by the threat. Then the eruption never takes place.

Herzog improvises by interjecting a history section on a devastating volcanic explosion on Martinique in 1901. The suspense builds but then to the strains of Wagner and shots of a smoldering volcano Herzog announces it won't be happening. It makes for an ironic and humorous ending and also spares the lives of the incredibly composed islanders who stayed behind. In documentaries that's a good thing.

Soufriere may not be a great film but it is a fine example of a superb artist detouring around a project ending obstacle to deliver a memorable one.

Awaiting for my death.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 21 August 2010]

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.

Got Problems with Sound!

[LiOish · 7/10 · 25 May 2012]

I think Herzog is Great! And I think La Soufriere is REALLY interesting thing to document! But something was Missing! I really wanted him to break into the police station For example explore more streets or spend more times with those who refused to leave! Umm! I am just thinking that he could work on better scripting an plotting with the perfect place and items! Also Music was horribly horrible seriously!.. But I really think i rated it 7 Just because it's soufriere and He is Herzog :). I mean am working on some documentary myself and am not really taking such risks like documenting an active Volcano For Example! but am working about different sort Of Volcanoes include Live Ammunition and Birdshot. anyway, i appreciate his work a lot. but not really this one ..

Proving once again that Werner Herzog is a bit crazy!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 21 January 2012]

I was fascinated by this film by Werner Herzog. That's because about a year ago I traveled to the Caribbean island of Guadaloupe and took an excursion to see the volcano. Well, the excursion sucked. It was so cloudy, you couldn't see the volcano! So, at least by watching the documentary I was FINALLY able to see that beautiful but deadly site.

This film was not just about seeing the volcano which seemed ready to erupt. This could have been done quickly and the film could have ended almost as soon as it started. Instead, Herzog travels across the island and waxes very poetic about life on the island after almost everyone evacuated. You see animals such as pigs, donkeys and dogs walking about the barren streets as well as a closeup of a dead dog (yuck!). And, he locates a few odd-balls who are determined to remain behind--and live or die if it's God's will. In between, you see a lot of nice film of the island. I particularly liked the aerial shots of the mountains and wish I'd seen the island this way! All in all, an interesting film (especially for me) that proves that Werner Herzog is crazy! After all, a volcano was supposed to be erupting any day! However, in light of his willingness to travel to insanely difficult locales for his films (such as the Amazon jungle, Antarctica, caves and the like), this short didn't come as a surprise to me, as I'm very acquainted with his film and admire his determination. Which, it turns out, continues just as strong today as it did back in 1977.

By the way, fortunately for Herzog and the few stragglers, the volcano inexplicably did NOT explode but eventually diminished strength and the disaster was averted. Herzog appeared to sound quite apologetic for this at the end of the film!!

Short but Bitterlysweet

[elicopperman · 7/10 · 11 January 2024]

To add further proof into how wild director Werner Herzog truly was in his prime, one of his shortest documentaries La Soufriere has gone down as an insanely fascinating examination on Guadeloupe being affected by an impending volcanic eruption. Despite barely clocking in at 30 minutes, the film has remained highly regarded for its brazen ambition and deep look into the lives of people in an otherwise unknown area. While this would not end up being the last documentary Herzog made focusing on volcanoes, it is certainly one that gets brought up in conversation to the umpth degree.

Now as Herzog narrates the film itself, he is able to provide his own reasoning for visiting Guadeloupe in the first place. The primary reason is that while the entire island had been evacuated, at least one peasant refused to leave, thus prompting Herzog and his crew to go down to the place and interview the man in question. Alongside roaming the deserted streets of the island's towns, the crew end up facing hazardous effects like sulfurous steam from the mountains, which are nonetheless captured beautifully with enough time to let viewers take in the waste of vast beautiful nature. As for the remaining few people left on the island, one is awaiting death and another only does so to look after some animals. Without disagreeing with either men to the point of causing hysteria, Herzog and his crew allow each subject to express their connection with death and the afterlife, something that might not have been tackled in documentaries at that point in time. Add on how they feel content in their current homes and there is just enough to take away from these men in just half an hour.

With all of this said, the volcano ultimately did not erupt, but its presence clearly left such a significant impact on Guadeloupe. Although only shown briefly, the occasional scenes that showcase the deserted towns and jungles across the island are frightening to say the least. When one takes into account how few people were left on the island, especially without knowing if the volcano would truly erupt or not, the idea that anyone left would have their lives spared can best be described as an unexpected miracle. Herzog has often gone down in the history books as one of the wildest filmmakers out there, but he may have never lived to tell any of his crazy tales had it not been for the island not being harmed at all. Most people wouldn't even dream of taking the risks that Herzog and his crew dared to go on, whether it be shooting a documentary in a remote island or something else. It just goes to show you how much respect Herzog has earned in the long run, regardless of whatever the subject in his resume may be.

La Soufrière review by Kaja Popko

[Kaja_Popko · 10/10 · 23 April 2023]

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.

A pre-apocalyptic scenario

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 13 April 2015]

This is a 30-minute documentary short film from almost 40 years ago by notable German filmmaker Werner Herzog. It takes place on the island of Guadeloupe and tells about the situation of an upcoming volcano eruption. Herzog traveled to the island when he heard about an unrelenting inhabitant who was ready to accept his fate and did not choose to leave his home. Herzog brought a two camera men with him, one of them later an Academy Award nominee for "Far from Heaven". When he made this, Herzog was in his 30s, now he is in his 70s. And it is still so much fun for me to listen to him. I just love his voice and this is also a main reason why he may be such an accomplished documentary filmmaker. he usually narrates his own movies. The language here says German, but the version I watched was in English. It was not a problem at all. Herzog sounds very much like a foreigner here, even makes mistakes occasionally ("baddest), but it just all adds to the charm of this movie. I would even say it helps the film as it takes away from possibly sounding slightly pretentious. Herzog just has a unique talent in exactly finding the fine line between making a film as informative as possible, but yet easy to understand. The historic context with the previous eruption and the scientific approach to eruptions could have been too difficult or too much into detail with a less talented film maker, but Herzog hits the nail on the head: the prisoner tale, the piece of bread, the interviews... These little stories add so much here.

Early on, it says that this is mostly about the island inhabitant who stayed, but not really as we find out later. First of all, there are more than one and then, they also do maybe only include 10% of the film and appear way after the half of the film. We see the deserted island. We see abandoned houses and animals etc. The German Film Awards honored this fine piece of filmmaking and I personally recommend it to watch it together with Herzog's "Aguirre" from 5 years earlier maybe. Recommended.

Uniquely atmospheric

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 22 March 2015]

A 30-minute documentary film by Werner Herzog in which he and a couple of cameramen visit a remote island in Guadelope, where an active volcano threatens to erupt at any second. They discover a deserted township with starving dogs roaming the streets, as well as at least three homeless men who seem consigned to their eventual fates.

It's a great premise and you can instantly see why Herzog was attracted to this story: the images of the deserted town are haunting in the extreme, and nature plays a big part. Unforgettable shots include snakes evacuating the volcano slopes and dead dogs lying rotting in the lonely streets. The human stories which conclude this brief report are even more devastating, a study of loneliness and the acceptance of fate. All of these are themes commonly explored by Herzog, and they're just as intriguing here.

Great Early Herzog

[pvtsew · 24 November 2015]

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.

Very Good

[Michael_Elliott · 10 August 2008]

Soufrière, La (1977)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

German documentary has Herzog taking his film crew to the island of Guadeloupe when he hears that a volcano is about to erupt and people there aren't wanting to leave even though it might cost them their lives. To be more point on, the entire town has evacuated except for three people who all believe that the volcano is God's will and that when it's their time to go they shouldn't fight it. This is yet another great documentary from the master director. Running just under 30-minutes the film gives us all sorts of great shots of the volcano firing up but in the end, for reason's scientist don't understand, the thing never went off. Herzog narrated the action and at one point he describes the empty and silent city as something you'd see out of a science fiction movie. That's a good way to describe the film because it really does look like something you'd see in a science movie just because of the beauty of the island that is now empty due to a looming threat. We also get a back story of the same volcano erupting in 1903 where 30,000 people were killed. There was only one survivor and how he managed to live is something I won't spoil.