Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a must see documentary for art history lovers and fans of Werner Herzog. I really regret that I didn’t get to see Cave of Forgotten Dreams in the theaters. Cave of Forgotten Dreams loses something in translation-literally with respect to the English dubbing (I prefer subtitles) and ratio conversion from the big to the small screen. I could not completely focus and give Cave of Forgotten Dreams the attention it deserves.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a privilege to view because very few people will actually see the Chauvet caves with the oldest human created depictions. Werner explicitly evokes the idea of the cave walls as the origins of early cinema, and though not explicitly stated, Plato came to mind. Werner is more interested in the concept behind the communion of saints-the shared human experience that spans ages when we know that we are seeing what our ancestors saw ages ago despite numerous differences in our lives.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams is also a documentary about the personalities of the experts that have permission to study the cave. Their perspectives differ based on field of study or past experiences. Leave it to Herzog to find the former circus juggler! I appreciated when a music expert pointed out the obvious: the primitive musical instruments created then can play music created now. For humanity, art is a mirror and a form of time travel.