This documentary is awesome in the original sense of the word. Director Werner Herzog got rare access to a cave in southern France with paintings that have been determined to be over 30,000 years old. Using 3D cameras specially made for this project, Herzog, a native of Germany, narrates in English (his accent, to my untrained ear, matches that of Christoph Waltz in Water for Elephants) and mixes in interviews and some computer imaging. After my unsatisfactory experience with 3D at Thor, this is a revelation. In fact one blogger calls it "the best use of 3D" he has yet seen. The computer imaging is a natural for the 3D, and when we are in the cave, the sides of the walls really seem to stick out around us. Herzog's (I wrote about him in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) choice of himself to narrate is inspired. We get the filmmaker's unique perspective (pun intended) when, for example, he tells us that there are no places for the crew to hide to get out of the shot. He had not previously been a fan of 3D, but was won over, and Jack and I were blown away. One of the things that makes the Cave de Chauvet Pont d'Arc special is that it was almost completely closed off due to a landslide, which preserved the cave painting, stalactites, stalagmites, bones, etc. inside.
The music, which includes choral singing and chanting, is spot on, save for one moment when the crew is instructed to be quiet and listen to the cave (I wanted to listen more to the cave when the music started up at that point). In fact, Manohla Dargis in the New York Times disliked all of Ernst Reijseger's music, but I thought it was good (I can't locate a track from this movie for you, but here is one from Herzog's last feature, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009)). Subtitle-phobes may celebrate: this is all in English. Even the French scientists' comments are translated in voiceover. Make every effort to see this in 3D if possible.
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