Even when Werner Herzog is not at his best, the product is still pretty damn good. I went to the German director's latest documentary with sky-high expectations and, sadly, Cave of Forgotten Dreams did not quite reach the peaks of ecstasy that I have come to associate with Herzog's films. But that's not to say that Cave of Forgotten Dreams is not worth seeing. It is--as long as you see it in 3D and on the big screen. Otherwise, it's little more than an overly long Discovery Channel documentary.
Herzog is one of my favorite filmmakers, so I hold him to a high standard. His 1979 update of the vampire film Nosferatu and the 2007 documentary Encounters at the End of the World are my favorites. Both of these films are haunting in their beauty. Herzog's use of imagery, music, and long stretches of silence where the viewer just sort of lets the film wash over him or her appeal strongly to me. Herzog also has a tendency to focus on interesting, eccentric people--such as Timothy Treadwell in what is perhaps Herzog's best known film, Grizzly Man. Herzog is clearly a man fascinated by nature, beauty, and man's search for meaning. His movies aren't designed to entertain, but to allow us to see the world from a unique perspective.
This is the aim of Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a documentary about ancient cave paintings that were discovered in the Chauvet caves in France. These paintings are the oldest that have ever been discovered--and their technique and beauty is thrilling. To see their artistry and detail sent shivers down my spine because, to me, it shows that the humans who lived over 35,000 years ago when these paintings were made still had something in them that we recognize in ourselves today. I'm not saying that these prehistoric humans were artistes, but their paintings show that they also had that certain spark--a desire for expression and creation let's say--that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. We share a bond, reaching back millenia, with these cave men and women.
While a straightforward documentary would have sufficed, Herzog went an extra step and filmed this movie in 3D. I've only seen a handful of films in 3D (most of them animated), but this is the best use of the medium I've seen. I know it might sound obvious, but it makes you feel like you're right there, in the cave, mere inches away from the paintings. Herzog knew that we will never get access to these caves the way he and a few select others did. His choice to make the film in 3D seems very deliberate--a way to invite the audience in and tell them, "You may never get as close as I did, but I will make every effort for you to feel as close as possible to this art". And it works. The 3D puffs out the images so that you feel like you could run your hands against them.
That said, Cave of Forgotten Dreams is not perfect. For one thing, it is slow and even a bit snooze-inducing in some parts. The film felt much longer than 90 minutes, and there were times when I wanted Herzog to hurry up and make his point so I could go home.
The other problem I had was the ending of the film. Herzog has said in interviews that his films aim for "ecstatic truth"--that is, a level beyond actual reality that captures Truth (with a capital T) in a way that the basic facts never could. Herzog has used this excuse, or aim, or whatever you call it to justify falsifying facts in his previous documentaries. I respect his decisions as a filmmaker, but this whole false Truth is greater than true truth equation really only works when you don't know about it. If you're going to plant fake stuff in your documentaries in the name of art, please take care to hide the brushstrokes. In the last scene of Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Herzog pulls an obvious Herzogian move. He inserts a scene of "radioactive albino alligators" and discusses how they have evolved, or been affected by the modern world and its environment. He asks "are we the albino alligators, looking back on the men who did the cave paintings?" (I'm paraphrasing here). I think I sort of understand what he's trying to say--i.e. that we are products of our modern environment looking back into the past...or something. But the scene feels so out of place and disjointed that instead of ringing Ecstatically True, it just rings false. Plus, I bet those alligators aren't really radioactive. But that's Werner for you.
OMG. Are WE really the alligators? Or did I just blow your mind!?
4 out of 5 stars
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