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Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)

An exploration of the Chauvet Cave turned into a meditation of the human soul

Documentary, Drama

7.9

movie

Canada, France
English, French, German
Intense, Thought-provoking
2010
Werner Herzog
Charles Fathy, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog
90 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.

Our Take

7.9
Isabella Endrinal

In this 3D documentary, Werner Herzog takes a dive into the Chauvet Cave in Southern France. From archaeology and anthropology to master perfumery, scientists across disciplines have studied the cave with a palpable enthusiasm—making their best guesses about each cave drawing, based on the data that can be collected without destroying the site. It’s fascinating to hear how they hypothesize where they can find new entrances, or how prehistoric humans could have made music. Cave of Forgotten Dreams turns a regular documentary into a profound meditation about the human soul, creation, and human history. Herzog compiles clips of his interviews with the scientists alongside footage of the cave itself and his own narration, and mixes it with an ethereal score to turn this exploration into a religious epiphany.

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