Werner Herzog is an intensely personal film director, who has successfully navigated the realms of lives as diverse as Timmy Treadwell, the "Grizzly man" who was mauled to death by his subjects, and the 16th century Spanish conquistador Lope de Aguirre as he vainly sought el Dorado. Cave of Forgotten Dreams is Herzog's attempt to share his own experiences in Chauvet Cave, a 32,000 year old masterpiece of Upper Paleolithic cave art.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Film poster by 360 Degree Communications
That Herzog got into the cave with his cameras for a brief period is great news for us: Chauvet is not, decidedly not open to the public and it probably never will be. Visits from thousands of tourists, or rather the heat and moisture from the breath of thousands of tourists, have been blamed for the onset of destructive mold in Lascaux Cave, and researchers do not want that to occur again.
So, Chauvet Cave is closed to us, and in Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Herzog attempts to give us the elements of his experience in the Ardeches valley of France, by interviewing a variety of scientists, filmed in the valley and lab, as well as extensive shooting within the cave itself. I received a screener, and the copy wasn't in three dimensions, of course, and I don't have Dolby stereo in the house, and (as if it were available anymore) there's no more Smell-o-Vision, but I still have the nerve to review it. And when it gets to the I-Max in my neighborhood, I'll be there.
- Read the whole review of Cave of Forgotten Dreams
- Read more about Chauvet Cave
- Read more about Lascaux Cave
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