Review of Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) by Hm F — 07 May 2011

Who can deny the fun of listening to Hertzog narrating a 3D doc on early cave paintings? I sure can't. At this point, I'll watch a movie of paint drying as long as Hertzog is there to wax philosophically about the nature of humanity and its relationship to paint.

The movie's subject matter is fascinating; French cave art trapped behind an avalanche of rock for some 30,000 years. Some of the imagery is stunning and more so for its 3D photography, giving full dimensional life to the curves and texture of the art on the rocks.

When Hertzog tells of how the painted rhinos and horses come to life as you walk around and past them, the audience knows exactly how he feels with the incredible 3D photography on display here. Hertzog milks the film-making logistics for all its worth, showing the difficulty in getting around the caves where you can only travel along a 2 ft.

wide metal path. As is typical, the director manages to find the surreal in his subject matter, revealing a circus past in the life of one of the archeologists and later profiling a master perfumer who explores the caves with his highly tuned nose.

The score is just beautiful, closing your eyes and just listening to that is another experience in itself. It wouldn't be a Hertzog film without something to unsettle you, wait for that postscript with the albino gators in a nuclear reactor 20 miles away.

I don't understand what he's trying to say...but it scares the shit out of me.