The new documentary “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,†which opens Friday at a few theaters around South Florida, isn’t so much a piece of movie entertainment as it is a veritable privilege, offering an immersive
tour of a location no plane, train or automobile can take you.
The subject of the film is the Chauvet Cave, a secluded enclave in Southern France discovered in 1994 and containing the oldest cave paintings known to mankind. The art on the walls of the Chauvet Cave – mostly of the horses, wooly mammoths and Ice Age lions that populated the region at the time — dates back 30,000 years, more than twice as old as the previous record-holder. Given the sensitive nature of this historical landmark, entry is usually forbidden. But for this documentary, presented in conjunction with the History Channel, authorities allowed renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog and a number of scientists and art historians to film inside – in 3D, no less.
Given Herzog’s resume of gonzo movies, it’s surprising he was given free reign. Herzog is known for his features and documentaries about madmen on dangerous and self-destructive journeys in real-life nature settings, from “Fitzcarraldo†to “Aguirre: The Wrath of God†to “Grizzly Man.†But “Cave of Forgotten Dreams†is Herzog at his most accessible. He doesn’t run amok, like some of his ill-fated protagonists. Rather, he lingers on the paintings, pondering the beauty and cultural and historical significance of his pristine surroundings. He concludes, profoundly, that by simulating motion in their paintings, these early homo sapien artists created a kind of proto-cinema that was eons ahead of its time (Herzog does throw in a few oddball touches, mostly in his interviews with some of the eccentric historians, whose attempts to emulate Neanderthals provide a surfeit of humor in an otherwise scholarly work).
As someone who has echoed Roger Ebert’s harsh criticisms of 3D’s superfluence, I found Herzog’s employment of three-dimensionality to be the revelation us naysayers have been waiting for. Up until now, 3D technology has only been used to heighten blockbuster spectacles. The narrative of “Avatar†may have been more “high-minded†than “Gulliver’s Travels†– the pathetic nadir of 3D overkill – but the films’ 3D means were exactly the same. “Cave of Forgotten Dreams†takes 3D to new and fascinating directions, using it for the practical purpose of placing us somewhere we would never normally be exposed. This technology was never conceived so that we could to stare at languorous, repetitive takes of ancient wall art, and that’s part of the reason Herzog’s utilization of it is so refreshingly radical.
Will some people be bored by “Cave of Forgotten Dreams?†Absolutely, but it’s their loss, and they’re probably not the kind of people who rush to see Werner Herzog movies anyway. But if you’re the kind of adventurous cinephile who has become jaded by ubiquitous 3D visions of animated animals and lavish battle scenes, this contemplative essay film is made for you.
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams†opens Friday at Regal Shadowood in Boca Raton, Regal Delray and Regal South Beach. It expands May 13 to Coral Gables Art Cinema.
