2010/09/17

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Werner Herzog has produced a number of excellent documentaries over the years (his doc on Antarctica, "Encounters at the End of the World", was a highlight for me at TIFF from a couple of years ago).

His latest is a voyage into the Chauvet caves in France, a treasure trove of cave art from 30,000 years ago). The trip into the caves is enhanced by the use of 3D camera equipment.

The use of 3D accentuates the confines of the cave and its features -- the stalagtites and stalagmites; the ridges formed by the accretion of calcite on the cave floor -- as well as how the artists placed their work to take best advantage of the contours of the cave walls. Parts of it work very well to provide the immersive experience sought by many directors of 3D films.

The narration is provided by Herzog along with commentary from a number of the research scientists who work on and in the caves.

I was fortunate and was able to get a seat dead centre in the theatre, which should have been in the "sweet spot" for viewing.

Unfortunately, I had the same experience that I had with Avatar -- at its best, 3D is a novel viewing experience but the combination of the 3D glasses and my own induced a pretty nasty headache by the end of the film. It appears that barring any improvement in the technology (or my brain chemistry (:->)), I will be sticking with 2D.

That said, the documentary is recommended -- worth a look in 3D is available, but I think it would still be entertaining with only two dimensions.
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