Apr 27, 2011 – For over 20,000 years Chauvet Cave, in southern France, was completely sealed off by a fallen rock face that kept the cave’s interior, as large as a football field, filled with pristine wall paintings dating twice as much as every previous find. In 1994 Chauvet Cave was discovered and immediately became one of the most significant prehistoric art sites in the world.
The cave paintings depict as least thirteen different animal species – houses, cattle, lions, panthers, bears, rhinos, hyenas. In order to preserve the cave, only a small scientific team is allowed in the cave a couple of weeks each spring and autumn, and even for them the circumstances are trying as the high levels of carbon dioxide and radon inside make it impossible to work for more than a few hours each day. There is no access to the public.
Many filmmakers requested permission to film the place, but director Werner Herzog, a lover of Paleolithic art since early childhood, was the first to be granted it. By offering the French Minister of Culture, Frederic Mitterrand, to become an employee of the French Government at the rate of one Euro, Herzog was given the chance to document the cave. His small crew, recognizing that this would be their only chance, chose to film it in 3D.
The resulting documentary gives the rest of us an opportunity to see what we will not see with our own eyes. The cave’s paintings are the work of men from thousands of years ago speaking through the ages, their message to us saying: “We were here.” Cave of Forgotten Dreams not only captures art and history but it sparks a conversation within ourselves – What are we leaving behind? What will our message be to those who will follow thousands of years from now?
Truly beautiful, shot with special 3D cameras to provide the fullest possible experience, Cave of Forgotten Dreams will amaze you.
The film opens at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood this Friday April 29. It is 90 minutes long, in English. Tickets are available online HERE.
Comments