In 1994 a team of French explorers, searching for unknown caves in the south of their country, came upon the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc, sealed from the upper world by a landslide some 25,000 years ago. Inside this time capsule from the Paleolithic Age were remarkable paintings dating from perhaps 10,000 years before the famed Caves of Altamira in Spain. Determined to preserve Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc from exposure to the elements, and the depredations of back packers, the cave was sealed behind a steel vault with admission granted only to researchers—and German director Werner Herzog.
Herzog's 3D Cave of Forgotten Dreams (out on Blu-ray) is considerably more cinematic than most of his recent documentaries, probably because the topic inspired his visual imagination. The drawings of animals found in Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc are masterful, often composed in dynamic circular patterns suggesting charging herds and abundant life. Working under tight restrictions of time, access and lighting, Herzog uncovers the cave's interior and ponders, in his narration, the meaning of it all. Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc is one of several late 20th century discoveries that have begun to rewrite the archeological record, pushing the dawn of culture backward in time. With no human remains discovered in the cave, Herzog can only speculate about the creators of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc and their desire to inscribe their impressions of reality in a form more enduring than speech.
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