One of the hardest working and passionate directors of our time, Werner Herzog, leads viewers on a fascinating tour of one of the great wonders of the world (and record of humanity's background), the cave of Chauvet in France, in his documentary film The Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Cave drawings that can be traced back 32,000 years reveal perhaps an impulse that would separate humans from other species in their drawings of animals from their surrounding world, drawings that often seem to have spiritual, emotional and intellectual underpinnings.
Because of the extreme fragility of the environment, Herzog and a skeleton crew were only allowed very limited access to the cave. This limitation was met with not only extreme gratitude for being able to film the cave at all but with the knowledge that no time could be wasted. With his experience at "one shot" filming, Herzog I am sure relished the challenge. Filming in 3-D allows the viewer to see the subtle texture of the caves and the drawings of animals that were common in paleolithic Europe when the continent was dominated by glacial landscapes. Herzog narrates the visit and also interviews a number of scientists and archaeologists who have dedicated their careers to this site.
One of the very important things that Herzog does is to provide multiple viewings of the drawings, sometimes with his narration, sometimes with expert commentary, sometimes with musical accompaniment and sometimes in silence. These multiple viewings from different perspectives allow the viewer to savor and digest the drawings, something that even a personal visit might not allow.
I am, of course, always interested in the ways music impacts a film. I recall visiting the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens where one of the interactive displays allows one to change soundtracks to see what difference the music makes on the film. I think that in documentaries such as this, the use of music must be considered very carefully. Unfortunately, directors who are not sensitive to music or think about it as an afterthought can mar a film. None of the reviews I read of this film made any mention of the music. Herzog apparently gave latitude to the "composer" of the film's soundtrack, Ernst Reisjeger to develop appropriate music. Because he is a jazz cellist, his own performance dominates much of the film. He seems to be reacting to what he sees. At certain points, a wordless vocal chorus aurally winds its way up to the cave and into it. Only in one small section is a flute used. This is, to me, unfortunate as a primitive bone flute is discussed in the film and this timbre is so evocative in the acoustic space of caves. Of course, wherever there are stalagmites and stalactites the sound of a pipe organ has to come into play. This happens on at least two occasions. I think that more discreet use of musical sound, along with longer periods of silence or with purely environmental sounds would have improved the effect of the film.
Werner Herzog would not be himself were he not to insert some eccentricities into what is otherwise a lovingly and thoughtfully made film. In addressing the shadowy effects of light in the cave and speculation about primitive shadow dancing, he inserts a clip of Bing Crosby doing a shadow dance. In postscript, Mr. Herzog has footage on a nuclear power plant near the cave and the development of an enclosed tropical area where a cooling area for the plant creates an environment where tropical plants and water life flourish. Mr. Herzog focuses on some mutant albino alligators and speculates as to whether they will find their way to the cave at Chauvet.
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