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[film] Cave of Forgotten Dreams
I'm really pleased I finally managed to see this, and in 3D: Werner Herzog's poetic (and occasionally overly romantic) essay on the Ice Age cave paintings at Chauvet, in Southern France. The cave was sealed by a rockslide in the remote past, preserving everything within: animal bones, footprints from human and animal, and the wall art.
As well as the immense age of the paintings -- which depict horses, lions, bison, and bears, as well as extinct species such as mammoths and auroch and possibly a giant sloth -- there's an awe-inspiring sense of continuity: the cave wasn't inhabited, but was visited and decorated by humans over a period of at least five thousand years. (When the humans weren't around, the cave bears scratched at some of their paintings.)
The 3D was marvellous: the stalactites and -mites glittered, there were delicate veils of calcite, a bear-skull was transformed into sculpture. There was also a real sense of the confined space and the curvature and texture of the walls, which the original artists had incorporated into their images.
Herzog assembled a motley and fascinating crew of experts in various fields, from the master perfumier who sniffs out cave air, to the gentleman in reindeer furs who played The Star-Spangled Banner on his reconstructed bone flute, to the re-enactor who demonstrated a spearthrower with unconvincing results but typical Gallic aplomb. "Yes, the Paleolithic man would have thrown better than me." *shrugs* There were also some albino crocodiles, but they didn't say much.
It's the closest I'll probably ever get to anything that old, and frankly if 'remote tourism' and computer modelling are this good (the laser-dot rendition of the cave's topography was amazing) then I'm happy to preserve the antiquities and experience them second-hand.
Downsides: I wasn't too keen on the music (too much screechy violin), and occasionally the camera-work made me seasick (not surprising: shouldercams in a tight space). Also, I now have a worrying urge to reread all my Jean Auel books. (They are in the discard box: but the discard box is still in the study ...)
As well as the immense age of the paintings -- which depict horses, lions, bison, and bears, as well as extinct species such as mammoths and auroch and possibly a giant sloth -- there's an awe-inspiring sense of continuity: the cave wasn't inhabited, but was visited and decorated by humans over a period of at least five thousand years. (When the humans weren't around, the cave bears scratched at some of their paintings.)
The 3D was marvellous: the stalactites and -mites glittered, there were delicate veils of calcite, a bear-skull was transformed into sculpture. There was also a real sense of the confined space and the curvature and texture of the walls, which the original artists had incorporated into their images.
Herzog assembled a motley and fascinating crew of experts in various fields, from the master perfumier who sniffs out cave air, to the gentleman in reindeer furs who played The Star-Spangled Banner on his reconstructed bone flute, to the re-enactor who demonstrated a spearthrower with unconvincing results but typical Gallic aplomb. "Yes, the Paleolithic man would have thrown better than me." *shrugs* There were also some albino crocodiles, but they didn't say much.
It's the closest I'll probably ever get to anything that old, and frankly if 'remote tourism' and computer modelling are this good (the laser-dot rendition of the cave's topography was amazing) then I'm happy to preserve the antiquities and experience them second-hand.
Downsides: I wasn't too keen on the music (too much screechy violin), and occasionally the camera-work made me seasick (not surprising: shouldercams in a tight space). Also, I now have a worrying urge to reread all my Jean Auel books. (They are in the discard box: but the discard box is still in the study ...)
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Oddly, visiting many caves, like Niaux, isn't that hard. You just have to phone and book in advance. Apparently they keep the numbers down and only do it at all in caves where anything ultra fragile is already long gone. We went a few years ago and it was amazing, but I'd honestly rather see the film, which takes you to all the tucked away bits, lets you see things better, and saves you the guilt of wondering what harm you're doing by breathing there. The film doesn't quite get the temperature, smell, claustrophobia and dripping water, but then it also doesn't get the annoying tour guide and crappy lighting.
Musee de l'Homme in Paris is revamping itself with a big prehistory section. It wasn't open yet when we were there, but might be by the time you go... I'm hoping they'll put in all the portable art originals and cave art replicas they used to keep in various back rooms and dusty boxes out in the burbs.
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