Cave of Forgotten Dreams

In Werner Herzog's groundbreaking documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams, the revered director presents a mesmerizing 3D examination of the human spirit while exploring the Chauvet Cave in southern France. Herzog was given unprecedented access to the caverns, which were discovered in 1994 and house the oldest known cave paintings. Created with astounding detail, the images depict animals—some long extinct—often seemingly in motion. Calling it a form of "proto-cinema," Herzog marvels at the endeavor of the artists and their remarkable desire to communicate the human experience to future generations through these paintings, which display an uncanny understanding of perspective, geometry, and movement. The story alone makes for fascinating viewing, but Herzog also brilliantly subverts the 3D blockbuster craze, utilizing the technology to bring the viewer inside a cave where few will ever be permitted to venture in a highly realistic and lifelike way. What James Cameron did with Avatar and fantastical narrative cinema, Herzog has done with documentaries. By using cutting-edge visual technology to study some of the oldest visual representations in existence, Herzog has allowed his audience to experience something that otherwise wouldn't be possible.