Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Werner Herzog’s (Grizzly Man, Aguirre Wrath of God) new documentary on the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc in Southern France – limestone caves that contain 30,000 year-old paintings, first discovered in 1994.

"Here, amid gleaming stalactites and stalagmites and a carpet of animal bones, beautiful images of horses gallop on walls alongside bison and a ghostly menagerie of cave lions, cave bears and woolly mammoths. The cave was discovered in December 1994 by three French cavers… The French government soon took custody of the cave, and ordinary visitors were barred to protect it, as Mr Herzog explains in his distinctive voice-over, from the kind of damage done to other prehistoric caverns. Being not remotely ordinary, he persuaded the government to allow him and a tiny crew to join the researchers who visit the cave to plumb its secrets… Herzog is an agreeable, sometimes characteristically funny guide, whether showing you the paintings or talking with the men and women who study them." (NZ International Film Festival 2011)

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