Reviews

Having only seen "Aguirre: Wrath of God", my Herzog experience was rather limited. I was excited to see this film because of it's fascinating subject material and because I had enjoyed my previous Herzog experience so much.

Now to the movie: The cave is incredible. They remark how fresh all of the art looks, and it's preservation and immediacy is truly astounding to reflect on over the course of the film. The film notes that certain pictures inches apart could have been drawn 5000 years apart. It really blows apart your comprehension of human history and time.

The narrative around the cave, however, ended up being an aimless collection of some facts, lots of speculation, and airy fluff about the "human spirit" that couldn't quite get to the core of what it wanted to say. You leave feeling like you've learned almost nothing about the cave or its people in the end. Twenty minutes of haunting, slow-panning shots of cave artwork would have had the exact same effect. No hyperbole intended.

I couldn't disagree more with the idea that this is a contrived movie with a pointless main character. Will Ferrel plays a man that is flawed, cynical, and coping with alcoholism-- in my opinion, somebody incredibly human.

To the previous reviewer who says things like: "There are a few chuckles, but how is this guy not smart enough to be sleeping in his front yard and forget that he has sprinklers in the front yard. .... not once, but twice." ... The man is drunk for somewhere near 100% of the time he is on his lawn. If you pass out drunk, you're not making plans to deal with sprinklers in the morning.

Anyway, Will Ferrel is excellent. The humor in the this movie is all Ferrel's timing and countenance as he copes with everything that has happened so suddenly in his life. He shines during the characters most vulnerable moments, like when he wakes in a cold sweat in complete panic because he is out of alcohol, and his desperation in trying to get beer on credit from the liquor store. His reaction to and ability to cope with constant traumatic discovers makes this movie an interesting/engaging experience.