Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Directed by: Werner Herzog | 90 minutes | documentary

Werner Herzog is a filmmaker in heart and soul. As adept at making fictional films as making documentaries, and always interested in the essence of Man: his relationship with nature (the nature around him and his own nature), and the expression of his existence, his dreams and his hope. This theme is well reflected in documentaries such as ‘The White Diamond’ (about a one-man journey through and over the rainforest with a self-built flying machine), ‘Grizzly Man’ (about a man who spent his life with grizzly bears), and ‘Encounters ate the End of the World’ (about scientists and adventurers discovering new life in an almost otherworldly underwater world off Antarctica). In addition to being very intriguing in terms of content, the form is often beautiful. Herzog clearly loves the beauty of image and sound. His films are usually stunningly beautiful – in terms of compositions, the length of takes, the detailed close-ups – and have accompanying music that is not inferior to this (Herzog is a great lover of opera himself and has directed many of them). Herzog’s latest documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, once again fulfills all these characteristics, and is a worthy addition to Herzog’s body of work.

From the first shot, with the camera floating over French fields towards the cave, accompanied by a beautiful female choir on the soundtrack, the film grabs you and prepares you for a monumental journey through human history. To say that the discovery of the murals in the Chauvet cave is special is an understatement. It is one of the most important cultural discoveries ever, Herzog is quick to say. If you want to know how people from over 30,000 years ago imagined the world, and especially the nature around them – and get a glimpse of their thoughts, traditions, visions of the world – then watch this film! Because, it must be said: it is wonderfully beautiful and enormously impressive. The freshness of the paintings brings the world of that time so close that it almost makes you emotional. Herzog says that the archaeologists and film crew in the cave often became silent from the weight of the past. That it was as if they were entering the domain of these people without permission and being watched by them. As a viewer you also feel this closeness, even without actually being there.

Herzog therefore does everything he can to bring the viewer as close as possible to his own experience in the cave, and if possible even closer. For example, through long, slow-moving close-ups of the beautiful paintings, which he slowly illuminates and casts shadows again, much like the people in the cave must have experienced through their torches and fires. He also shows of course the rest of the environment, where especially many remains of cave bears can be found, and footprints of both animals (bears, wolves) and humans, but also many fascinating deposits, undulating tracks, glittering vaults, and almost alien, smooth and shiny stalagmites and stalactites. Sometimes it’s like we’re back in the unreal underwater world of ‘Encounters at the End of the World’. And at the same time, the discovery is a confirmation of being human, and of the timeless spiritual man, or at least his creative urge. To begin with, the drawings show a great respect for and anatomical knowledge of nature or animal life, which is also reflected in a presumed altar in which a bear skull seems to play a prominent role. Herzog also filmed all this with 3D cameras, making the depth in the drawings and the relief of the walls, which the artists have taken into account when creating their art, will become almost tangible to the viewer.

The visual qualities of the drawings themselves are also very fascinating. For example, several limbs or horns (in a rhinoceros) are sometimes shown to suggest movement, and open mouths of groups of animals provide the illusion of sound, giving the whole an audiovisual character. In that sense, the drawings already seem to foreshadow film, and the need to depict movements and scenes or events.

However, Herzog doesn’t seem to have enough material at the Chauvet cave alone to be able to say meaningful things about the era or the art forms used for less than an hour and a half, so for example excavations in nearby German caves and several archaeologists and even had a fragrance expert speak to give their views or explain their contributions to the research. These conversations are just not always interesting, or only sideways, and what is sometimes extra disturbing is the use of recorded translated dialogue when the different experts are speaking. This often detracts from the authenticity and intimacy of the stories and feels a bit cheap here and there. In the caves themselves, when commenting on the unique drawings and finds, which must be easily observed, it is understandable that Herzog opts for this form – simply because subtitling would obscure too much image – but at most other times it is just not necessary. But these are fairly minor blemishes on the wonderful audiovisual experience that is ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’, with not only strong camera work by Peter Zeitlinger but also almost transcendental music by Ernst Reijseger, giving the cave experience a spiritual touch that fits perfectly. near the cathedral-like environment. It is an extensive and loving portrait of a unique find, which is enriching for the entire human culture.