Synopsis
A scientist blames the head of a large company for an ecological disaster in South America. But when a volcano begins to show signs of erupting, they must unite to avoid a disaster.
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Cast
- Veronica FerresLaura Sommerfeld
- Michael ShannonMatt Riley
- Gael García BernalDr. Fabio Cavani
- Volker MichalowskiDr. Arnold Meier
- Lawrence KraussAristidis / Krauss
- Anita BriemFlight Attendant
- Danner Ignacio Márquez ArancibiaHuascar
- Gabriel Márquez ArancibiaAtahualpa
- Lilly KrugPassenger
- Werner HerzogMan with One Story (uncredited)
Recommendations
- 75
The Film Stage
Salt and Fire may feel like a joke of sorts, it’s one attuned enough to a genuinely idiosyncratic sensibility to still register enough as a genuine search for something new. - 60
The Guardian
For all his faults as a narrative film-maker, Herzog can at least be counted on to keep his non-documentary excursions unpredictable. - 58
Consequence
Fans of [Herzog's] unique style and humor will find much to enjoy in Salt and Fire, even if the film does lack some proper cohesion. Anyone who’s wavering in their critical affections, however, can easily use this as an example of what happens when a good artist buys into their own hype and mythology. - 58
The Playlist
Perhaps the best that can be said of Salt and Fire is that its flaws are wholly Herzog’s. Those flaws are deep. But so is the man responsible for them. - 50
Slant Magazine
Salt and Fire is a doodle, suggesting an assemblage of ecological riffs and fantasias that Werner Herzog may have entertained while making Into the Inferno. - 50
Screen Daily
It’s certainly a striking location for a story: a blinding white sun-baked blank slate on which anything can be written. It’s just a little unfortunate that the story Herzog chooses to tell is so frustratingly enigmatic and unformed. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
In Salt and Fire, a bad movie but an intriguing vacation slideshow, Michael Shannon and Veronica Ferres play “characters” (unconvincing, undimensional) and speak “dialogue” (expository, flat). - 42
IndieWire
Salt and Fire is by no means the most willfully obtuse film that Herzog has ever made — it seems as broad as a blockbuster when compared to the likes of “The Wild Blue Yonder” and “Lessons of Darkness” — but it’s the only one of his works in which his curiosity has completely eclipsed his insight.
