Cave of Forgotten Dreams Review
By Colton Gomez | 04/18/24 | 7:17 P.M. Mountain Time
Documentary, Drama | Rated G | 1 hr 30 min | Film Release Date: April 29, 2011
Werner Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” is a film that explores humanity’s attributes and emotional essence through Chauvet Cave, a prehistorical site discovered in1994. The cave is an artistic site made by primitive humans, where the walls are filled with depictions of bison, horses, bears, and lions, among others. The cave is an incredible archaeological and historical find which dates back to around 30,000 years ago. The cave is so pristinely preserved because a landslide happened tens of thousands of years ago that shut off all access to it; no wind, animals, or other elements had been inside until that discovery. It was not likely used for dwelling but for expression and possibly ceremonies. It wasn’t exclusive to primitive human activity, as there are bear scratch marks in the cave and bones of many animals. The drawings by humans were not all made at the same time but spread over several thousand years. We learn from these drawings of animals what the climate was like, what the animals looked like, and how the human desire for art and expression seems to be one of our defining features.
Chauvet Cave is an extremely protected site in France by the French government, and Herzog’s film crew was granted special access to view and film inside the cave, even if their access was very limited. Only four crew members were allowed in with a group of scientists, all of whom were restricted to walk on a two-foot-wide catwalk so as not to disturb the fragile cave floor and walls. Even where the catwalk might have gone through a stalagmite, the builders built neatly around it.
We learn through expert opinions in interviews what life was like at the time of primitive man. At the time these drawings were made, mammoths walked on 9,000-foot-thick ice sheets, alongside mane-less lions, neanderthal man, and homo sapiens, who drew them. Herzog thinks of this time period as the birth of the human soul, where art first started, and man came truly alive.
With his narration, he reminds us that we are no different today as we were back then. We may have newer tools and technology, but our hearts beat just the same. He holds massive respect for the discoverers of this human artistic drive, who were perhaps the first to feel the world around us and to respect the natural landscapes. They were emotional beings as we are emotional beings. They created instruments, perhaps depicted hunting stories through shadow shows, and of course drew the animals that captured their attention. Herzog points out that some animals, like bison, were drawn to have eight legs to suggest the movement of running. Identifying his own connection to our ancient ancestors, he says it’s, “almost a form of proto cinema.”
He views our similarities and differences through an uncomfortable and comedically helpless lens. These primitive humans were great hunters in their average lifestyle. They used spears, made tools to fit arrowheads of bone to firm sticks, and were able to chase and kill wild animals. An expert in these tools tries to demonstrate how they might have used their spears by thrusting them at waist height and throwing them. He explained how they crafted specialized spear-throwers which took advantage of the arm’s shape and power. This expert was one of academic knowledge and not of practical, as his demonstration seems to have hurt Herzog to watch him try over and over to throw it powerfully straight. At one point, when the expert goes to retrieve the spear, Herzog pleas to him, “stay here,” and continues with the talking head.
Throughout the film, he listens to experts who have digitally mapped the cave, carbon-dated it and its contents, and studied the findings and time periods to better understand our human history. The end of the film becomes a soft plea for the preservation of our natural world, juxtaposing nuclear reactors with the cave, located just miles apart. Where once dominant glaciers lied, alligators swim in a steamy environment. He ponders their understanding of the world and if we share any similarities. He identifies the dreams of humanity as our driving force to understand the world. This cave represents our ability to dream and if we lose our emotional essence, we cease to be human.
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