I’ve always had a fascination with the beginnings of things: the origins of the universe, the origins of humans, the origins of art… So cave paintings have always been really fascinating to me. And so the upcoming 3D documentary about the Chauvet Cave in southern France certainly grabbed my attention. Cave of Forgotten Dreams, brings the audience along with Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Grizzly Man) as the filmmaker and a two-man crew explore the cave, intercut with interviews with scientists and historians.
The use of 3D is genius, because in these paintings, the artists would often incorporate the form of the walls into their paintings — a bulge in the rock could turn into part of a rhinoceros, for instance. That extra dimension is lost in photographs of the paintings, so 3D is the closest thing to actually seeing them in person.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September and is set for release this spring. Time will tell, but I don’t expect it to be widely distributed; the number of art-house theaters with 3D projectors can’t be that great. (via The Playlist)