In southern-central France, the River Ardèche forms the largest natural canyon in Europe. Dotted with caves, archaeologists have for centuries discovered evidence of prehistoric settlements and relatively minor remains (arrowheads, flint knives).
But, less than 20 years ago, three French speleologists led by Jean-Marie Chauvet made a startling discovery of what became known as the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave and one of the most important of all prehistoric sites.
Such was the significance of the find by the three cavers, the French government put into action an expedition of authentication – just 10 days, including the Christmas break, after Chauvet reported their find.
Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave
Whilst there is some debate about the exact age of the cave art, the extraordinary depictions of wild beasts is estimated at some 32,000 years old – making it one of the oldest known cave art.
But it is not just the age of the work that makes the Chauvet cave so important.
The art itself is in superb condition – so much so that it was initially believed to be relatively recent (carbon-dating soon disproved that). The explanation is very straightforward: the cave system had been perfectly preserved, the result of a massive landslide several millennia ago sealing the entrance.
But its is also the sheer quantity and quality of the work that makes Chauvet of such significance – stunning images of horse, bison, mammoth but also cave lions, rhinos: depictions suggesting movement, action – even perspective thousands of years before the European Renaissance.
Fearing damage, the French government immediately restricted access. Even today only authorised personnel such as scientists, art historians and archaeologists are provided with limited access of a few weeks per year.
Until notorious director, screenwriter, producer and occasional actor Werner Herzog persuaded the authorities otherwise – the result the documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Forced to work with a tiny crew (four in total) within the cave and under considerable time and movement constraints, the director responsible for such monumental works as Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre Wrath of God and, more recently, Rescue Dawn has produced arguably his most intimate work.
In Fitzcarraldo, the director dragged a steamship across the landscape without special effects: he filmed Woyzeck in 18 days, using the same exhausted crew as those for Nosferatu, which had wrapped only five days earlier.
The director known for his obsessive approach thus toned down his approach to film the extraordinary subject.
Sadly, however, the result is a complete misfire: a narcoleptic dulling of a story that is seemingly made for celluloid.
Little is made of the lead-up to the discovery (why were the three speleologists out on the ridge on 18 December 1994?), the incredibly fast response by the French authorities, the sealing of the entrance.
In short, this is no investigative documentary exploring the story of the Chauvet Cave and the people who made the work (so just why Herzog can label it ‘the cave of forgotten dreams’ is a mystery).
Instead, along with the occasional talking head of scientists involved in the discovery, we have what can only be described as a 30 minute documentary filled out to be 90 minutes.
No anthropological insight into the prehistoric residents of the Ardèche, but we do get to journey with a perfumer who tries to sniff out caves close by or travel to the University of Tübingen and discuss with Professor Nicholas Conard the earliest known depiction of the female figure in art.
No discussion about the ongoing debate as to the age of the earliest paintings in the caves, but lots of flickering light on those same images with Herzog suggesting they are ‘proto-cinema’, or, in the most bizarre postscript, the director confusingly alluding to the threat of doppelganger albino crocodiles at the nearby nuclear power station to the cave art.
Sadly, insufficient time early on in the film is provided for appreciating the art – a sequence of over-edited imagery at the end with what is intended to be a haunting soundtrack simply emphasises the incredible beauty of the art, the extraordinary story behind its discovery and the specious indulgence of the filmmaker.
Personal rating: 1.5 stars
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
- Directed by Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu)
- Written by Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn, Invincible)
- Produced by Adrienne Ciuffo (Raising the Mammoth, Waking the Baby Mammoth – both TV), Erik Nelson (Grizzly Man, Dreams With Sharp Teeth)
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
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