Cave of Forgotten Dreams

2011 • 90 minutes

About this movie

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, a breathtaking new documentary from the incomparable Werner Herzog (ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, GRIZZLY MAN) follows an exclusive expedition into the nearly inaccessible Chauvet Cave in France, home to the most ancient visual art known to have been created by man. A hit at this year's Toronto Film Festival, CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS is an unforgettable cinematic experience that provides a unique glimpse of pristine artwork dating back to human hands over 30,000 years ago -- almost twice as old as any previous discovery.

Ratings and reviews

Anyone who down plays the significance of the find and the quality of the film simply does not know what they are talking about and has missed the point completely. I challenge you to find a cave, draw a life size figure of any animal you choose with any medium. Feel free to use as much lighting as necessary, film it and compare it to this masterpiece. This should should be shown in classrooms around the world repeatedly as well as churches and any place that claims they know the history of humanity.

Absolutely hypnotizing. Magical. Stunning. Mind-blowing. Incredible. Unbelievable. Life changing. Surreal. Its relevance and far-reaching implications transcend the medium, science, arts and technologies that were employed in its creation. Every frame has clearly been carefully planned and executed so that there is no fat or filler. This is the cinematic equivalent of the first men in space. This subject has never been filmed before. No better crew for the job. It is a film and yet so much more.

I find the paintings fascinating and appreciate them as relicts of an ancient culture. I find "expert" interpretation of their significance exaggerated and boorish. Also, filming was done with poor equipment, if they were going to make the effort, a decent camera sure would have been nice. Even so, it was nice to see the modeling of the cave and drawings.