Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D
Part of the fascination of Werner Herzog’s documentaries is in his narration. The words sometime sound wrought with pretension, but his voice sounds both subversively funny and profoundly intellectual in how he describes the images and subjects he puts on screen. Whether it’s the sorrow of a life lost in “Grizzly Man” or the Antarctic explorers of “Encounters at the End of the World,” Herzog’s narration provides the philosophical spirit of his documentary films.
In “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” Herzog adds 3D cinematography to the presentation, and the result is breathtaking and beautiful– the only time I’ve seen a 3D film where I left thinking I never wanted to watch it in 2D. As Herzog and his crew of three others explore the Chauvet Cave in France, which house the oldest known cave paintings ever discovered, the 3D process allows us to see the cave formations and paintings as if we were actually in the caves ourselves; that the cave is sealed off to tourists as a way of preserving the climate inside makes Herzog’s documentary, filmed with the blessing of the French Ministry of Culture, all the more valuable.
In 1994, French archaeologists discovered the cave as they were searching for air plumes that might reveal its presence. What they found was a milestone in discovery, not just for the prehistoric artwork contained within– carbon dating puts the earliest drawing at 32,000 years old– but for the naturalistic discoveries of bones and torch burns as well. The government sealed off the cave, and now strictly limit access to it. In addition to being limited to a four man crew, Herzog is only allowed three cold-panel lights (powered only by battery belts) and are to remain on the two-foot wide aluminum pathways that have been built in the caves. They have four hours a day at the most to film, and if they leave the cave, their day’s visit is over. For Herzog, the great German director who moved a massive boat across land in “Fitzcarraldo” and filmed his 1972 masterpiece, “Aguirre, the Wrath of God,” in the unforgiving jungle of South America, such limitations are merely opportunities for greater creative inspiration.
And it’s the creative discoveries within Chauvet Cave that hold the audience’s attention in “Cave of Forgotten Dreams.” The care and conviction of each line implies not just a familiarity with the aesthetics of drawing but also a larger appreciation of artistic expression, and the spiritual need for such expression. The drawings are haunting in the darkness (many centuries ago, a rock slide sealed the cave’s original entrance), but striking in their beauty; how far below us on the evolutionary scale could these men have been if they created such extraordinary works of art? Sadly, even Herzog’s fascinating documentary can’t answer that question for us.
