Salt and Fire (2016)

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.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Tom Bissell (short story), Werner Herzog (screenplay)

Stars:

Veronica Ferres, Michael Shannon, Gael García Bernal

3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Veronica Ferres	...	Laura Sommerfeld
Michael Shannon	...	Matt Riley
Gael García Bernal	...	Dr. Fabio Cavani
Volker Michalowski	...	Dr. Arnold Meier
Lawrence Krauss	...	Krauss / Aristidis
Anita Briem	...	Flight Attendant
Danner Ignacio Márquez Arancibia	...	Huascar
Gabriel Márquez Arancibia	...	Atahualpa
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Werner Herzog	...	Man with One Story

Storyline

Salt and Fire is about a mysterious hostage-taking where the leader of a small scientific delegation is deliberately stranded with two blind boys in an area of gigantic salt flats. Shot in Bolivia, the film stars Michael Shannon, Veronica Ferres and Gael García Bernal and was written and directed by Werner Herzog.

---

Plot Keywords:

salt | stranded | boy | delegation | salt flat | 

---

Genres:

Thriller

---

Details

Country:

Germany France Mexico Bolivia USA

Language:

English German Quechua Spanish

Release Date:

7 April 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deserto em Fogo

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Benaroya Pictures,Construction Film,Arte France Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in only 16 days.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Michael Shannon/Alicia Keys/John Mellencamp feat. Martina McBride (2017)

---

Soundtracks

Stabat Mater
[from the album "Eroberung des Nutzlosen: Gelesen von Werner Herzog"]
Music by Ernst Reijseger and Ensemble

User Reviews

Less of a thrill than a warning

I had to wonder what I was watching throughout, consistently waiting for something to happen. Salt and Fire delivers a film which is more like a patchwork quilt. Bits and pieces of ideas designed to be thought provoking but, in a typical arty style, leave you to draw your own conclusions to the meaning. So it allows itself to be watchable, just about, without anything of significance taking place. The only thing I took from the whole thing was that sometimes people who like nice stuff make bad decisions and then have to face their demons.

The acting was stilted throughout. Even Michael Shannon, who I tend to consider at least reasonable, played his part in keeping with everyone else. I still wonder whether it was intentional, perhaps some device designed to make you ask why.

Interesting idea, but it probably deserves a more fitting synopsis. This isn't a thriller and certainly isn't a disaster movie or maybe it is, if the film could play out for another 200,000 years.