Every time a volcano goes boom, clap , the beat goes on and on for Bethany and Nel. Sparks fly when a volcano erupts shortly before the girls reunite in Warsaw, Poland. That natural event seemingly precedes every encounter they have, and Bethany and Nel have a gentleman’s agreement that fate must abide the volcanoes’ calls.
The latest eruption happens when Bethany (Charli xcx) arrives in Warsaw with her boyfriend Rob (Will Madden) for a getaway. Rob has every minute of the trip planned with a highly scheduled itinerary. Bethany, however, has only one item on her agenda. She saunters off to meet Nel (Lena Góra) at her flower shop when Rob naps, and the fire of love erupts anew.
Erupcja , Polish for “eruption,” observes as a love triangle emerges. Bethany gets giddy in Nel’s orbit, and her friend feels the same. But Rob hopes to propose and his progressively clingy and increasingly boring personality can’t ignite the same passion that erupts when Bethany is with Nel. Bethany knows the question’s coming, too. She avoids him at all costs, ghosting him on their own romantic getaway, to delay the answer until she knows the score with Nel.
Director Pete Ohs crafts a free flowing anti-love story that breathes with youthful abandon. Making terrific use of locations and embracing the claustrophobic nature of Warsaw’s old narrow streets, Erupcja finds a sense of suffocation in the city buoyed by a percolating desire to be free. This sapphic love story sees the camera spring to life with new wavy handheld cinematography whenever the girls are together, while shots of Bethany with Rob convey the stagnation of their relationship. He’s really boring, guys!
With Rob being a stick in the mud and both women embodying a kind of mutually magnetic cosmic force, Erupcja runs with an intriguing premise that speaks to contemporary attitudes about fidelity and polyamory. Namely, if you could have a guilt-free, consequence-free affair whenever fate allows, would you take it? Natural performances from the three stars keep the complicated drama light and engaging, although the trio overall proves too dramatically limited to make one feel anything in this messy whirlwind if broken relationships. Góra fares the best with her sly take on Nel, but Charli xcx’s flat affect doesn’t make for the most engaging lead. She’s not exactly Lady Gaga, although Bethany hardly offers A Star Is Born material.
This aspect also leaves Erupcja dramatically dissatisfying because the members of the love triangle aren’t particularly likable. There’s nobody to really care for here, unfortunately, because Bethany and Nel enjoy the alignment of their tectonic plates without much care for the fallout to their friends, lovers, and colleagues. They’re all kind of awful and for all the talk of volcanoes, nothing really ignites in Erupcja.
It’s a novel concept that probably makes Erupcja a wild date movie, if a risky (or informative) one. Or one you’ll be perfectly content to see alone.
Erupcja screened as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival .
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