Werner Herzog/Canada/USA/France/Germany/UK/2010/95 mins/tbc
Shown as part of Glasgow Film Festival @ Cineworld, 18th February
On General release from 25th March
In his latest documentary, the prolific and famously eccentric Herzog is granted exclusive permission by the French government to shoot a film of the world’s oldest known cave paintings in their delicate underground Alpine setting, and intriguingly, he chooses to shoot in 3D. Given that the paintings incorporate the shape and contours of the rock surface, conventional 2D photography doesn’t really do this ancient artwork justice, so Cave of Forgotten Dreams shows off the paintings’ dimensions and complexities in all their glory. It’s a simple but brilliant approach, and demonstrates that 3D doesn’t have to be the preserve of Hollywood blockbusters.
As well as giving us lots of sumptuous sequences of full-on cave painting eye candy, accompanied by plaintive choral music, Herzog’s distinctive voice-over guides us as we meet the various scientists and archaeologists who excavated and mapped out the cave and its 32,000 year old artwork. These go beyond the dryly informative and include plenty of quirky moments, such as when one archaeologist plays The Star Spangled Banner on a reconstructed paleolithic bone flute, and another describes how he dreamed of lions for several nights after spending time in the caves. Herzog deftly mixes musings on science and technology with art and culture, speculating on the anonymity of these ancient artists, and pondering the vast time spans involved to the backdrop of the exquisite 3D shots of stalagmites and stalactites revealed as having formed after the paintings were created. Cave of Forgotten Dreams is definitely a highlight of the Glasgow Film Festival, as well as being just the ticket for intellectually snobbish 3D cinema skeptics.