The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari is a documentary movie directed by Rory Kennedy and written by Mark Bailey and Dallas Brennan, with a runtime of 98 minutes.
Netflix’s description of the movie reads:
Survivors’ and rescuers’ accounts and minute-by-minute footage fuel this gripping documentary about the deadly 2019 volcanic eruption in New Zealand.
– The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
The 2019 volcanic eruption of White Island (or, Whakaari) was a devastating tragedy that left 22 people dead. It’s definitely a sad watch, and the documentary does a good job of giving us a rundown of the absolute devastation of the situation, especially because we mostly focus on the survivors and those who carried out rescue missions.
As a documentary on a tragedy, the movie captures the essence and gravity of the situation well. You’ll be engrossed and fear-ridden while watching the situation unfold and hearing the accounts of those who faced it first-hand. There’s something extremely heartbreaking about hearing people talk about their near-death experiences and their scramble for freedom from a horrifying situation.
Nature is not to be messed with, and documentaries such as this remind us that in spite of how much we progress in our lives as a society, we are still just too insignificant and powerless and her. Thus, watching that very fact play out in front of you is tragic and shocking and leaves you feeling rather hopeless, considering how global warming is rapidly becoming a very real issue at this point.
That’s something, however, that I found severely lacking in The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari. The film, although terrifying, takes the easy route and doesn’t really look into who is to blame for the tragedy. I mean, sure, you can wrack your head and blame Nature all you want, but this has always been an active volcano, so you know. What can you do?
It, though, is interesting that the New Zealand government also tried to get out of taking any responsibility is both tragic and a bit of a cop-out. The movie too, thus, falls in the same category and doesn’t really delve too deep into anything other than the survivor’s tragedy or heartbreak. You expect documentaries to go deep and show us the nuances of the situation and the background, but The Volcano doesn’t do anything like that.
That being said, The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari looks beautiful before tragedy strikes. The film captures the wonderful natural beauty of New Zealand, with its beautiful ocean and islands. However, the beauty stops right as it starts, and soon enough, the black clouds loom from a distance, starting the horror story before you have had the time to enjoy the beauty of nature.
Summing Up: The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari is another tragic documentary that reminds us not to try to show Mother Nature who is boss. It captures the hopelessness and heartbreak of the situation perfectly, although fails to discuss who should be made accountable for such a situation.
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari is streaming on Netflix.
A powerful reminder of how truly stupid people can be. Who but those with the least amount of common sense would visit an active volcano.