User Reviews

In 1994 a prehistoric cave, the Grotte Chauvet, was discovered in the French department of Ardèche. 36,000 years old, it constitutes one of the most ancient artistic statements of mankind known today with its extraordinary painted walls. The animals represented there (horses, rhinos, lions...) reveal an admirable mastery that disrupts the former notions we once had about the degree of development of Cro-Magnon men. The people who decorated the Grotte Chauvet were indeed great artists and have nothing to envy from their current counterparts : their paintings are elegant, precise, faithful to reality but sufficiently refined to be more than a mere representation of their environment. Their work both informs and opens the door to the imaginary. The public obviously had a right to visit such an inspiring site but the experience of the Lascaux cave, among others, had shown that a massive flow of visitors was synonymous with deterioration. What was to be done ? Banning opening to the public would have been a major frustration. A team of prehistory specialists, scientists, visual artists, painters and sculptors was then formed and the decision was made to build an almost compete replica (80% were to be reproduced) one mile away from the original cave. Christian Tran's interesting documentary follows this amazing, somewhat crazy undertaking, with all the questions it involved : building a new site, but where? in what exterior style? how to integrate it into the surrounding nature? Copying the paintings, but how? rendered identically? reinterpreted to best grasp their spirit? What the day-to-day atmosphere was like before, during and immediately after the construction of La Grotte Chauvet 2 is what Christian Tran's documentary is all about. A work in progress that manages to keep the viewer's attention throughout. Altogether a relevant, serious (a little too serious maybe), illuminating effort, recommended for all, especially art and/or prehistory lovers.