Cave of Forgotten Dreams

A very moving documentary. Aside from the chance to discover and inspect something which you would not otherwise get to see, the thought that you are contemplating paintings made by our common ancestors thousands of years ago is transcending.

However much I enjoy Herzog's filmmaking, at times the narration is slightly overbearing and I wished I had been left to dream more freely. The 3D is not needed: it neither accentuates nor diminishes the beauty of the paintings, although you do understand why it was used. The texture and the relief of the cave walls are integrated parts of the works of art and the cavemen knew to utilise them to construct the scenes of animals fighting, galloping or gathering round a water hole. But either 3D technology needs to improve or the filming conditions in the cave were too challenging, because 3D really does not add much here.

Fortunately there is much going for this documentary without 3D. The wonderful music and the introduction of outsiders such as the old perfume maker all help to create an experience in which you can really take part. There is nothing passive about this watching: you are discovering a part of yourself you did not know before.

There is something mystical about the cave: it's not just a witness of the birth of humanity as we know it, it is truly a space where our common consciousness can be accessed.

It is bigger than each of us yet we're all in it. Our tools, our clothes, our very homes may have changed, but the raw beauty of those painted animals and of the nature surrounding the cave still touch us deeply to the core of our bodies. Our minds may have grown and our intellect may be able to rationalise our perceptions for the sole purpose of survival, but our hearts (for lack of a better word) and our souls are not so different from the cavemen's: they are still our primary catalysts to experience the world around us - that is when we let them.

Thank you Herzog and team for enabling us to remember that there is a cure for rational interpreting - that you do so with a camera is fitting and evocative!

I suppose that if you can't reverse time, your only solution is to turn it back on itself.

I've always felt that black holes hold the mystery to life. Herzog, you turned a black hole inside out!

© asd - 2011