Cave of Forgotten Dreams (3-D Doc 2010)
Director: Werner Herzog
Herzog may be a genius, and he is probably a little nuts, too. Thank heaven for that.
All of this is evident in this documentary about cave paintings discovered in Chauvet Cave in the south of France in 1994. Access to the cave is restricted because of the fragility of the place itself and of the art, which is between 23,000 and 30,000 years old. Human breath is enough to spawn molds and other bacteria which degrade the paintings, and the minerals in the caves, over time. This has already occurred at other sites in Spain and France.
Because Herzog has a reputation as a filmmaker he was given permission for a very short schedule of shooting film. The result is breathtaking.
As a former anthropology student, I may be more interested than the average person, but I can’t see anyone with even normal curiosity not being fascinated. And, the decision to shoot in 3-D, already a cliche, serves the setting and the viewer well. The distances and depths of the cave are well-depicted (despite a few creaky anomalies in some of the scenes), and add to the appreciation of the artists’ choices.
The paintings themselves are in a remarkable state of preservation, and the artistic conventions of the Paleolithic painters are dazzling. If you are not familiar with them, you will be amazed. If you have seen other examples of cave paintings, you will be surprised at the high quality of this set.
Herzog is a bit of a geek about this stuff, and his voice-over and interviews with the scientists can even be corny. Yet, he manages to find the oddballs even within a group of serious scholars. I don’t know if he is drawn to them, or vice-versa. There is one Einstein-looking guy who is informative and adorable at the same time.
This is the cultural heritage of the human race, and Herzog should be thanked for bringing it to us. His may be the last film crew to ever be allowed in. See this movie.
A-