Chauvet cave in southern France contains 30,000 years old primitive frescoes and fossilized ice age mammals, but the opening was sealed by falling rocks until scientists stumbled upon it in 1994. A team of scientists and documentary makers entered the cave. In their own method, they explore the prehistoric way of knowing and expressing things, the birth of art and civilization, and the curious people who surround the caves today. The documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams records one such incident in Chauvet Cave.

The documentary made viewers feel the beauty of art thousands of years ago, but also expressed their concerns about the development of industry today. Modern industry has eroded prehistoric sites, a nuclear power plant has been built near Chauvet cave, and hundreds of crocodiles live in an ecosystem of cooling water. Chauvet cave is threatened with future flooding. To convey the feeling of beauty and call for the protection of the ecological environment is the main theme of this film.

The scientists used technology to create a 3D map of the cave, which is about 1,300 feet long from front to back.But technological restoration is not the ultimate goal of scientists. Their ultimate goal is to reconstruct the past and let the present know what happened here. Scientists are not only using technology to find the cave, but are also going back to ancient times, using the backs of their hands and faces to sense the wind blowing out of the cave.Exploration here every day thoughts and emotions of scientists the impact caused by staff in the cave feel himself become small, artificial light to illuminate the whole cave, some scientists felt a strange, irrational feeling, like a pair of eyes, and they, as they enter the disturb of the paleolithic artists' creation. The cave is an organic combination of the landscape outside, and in this landscape, there is a musical atmosphere that not only modern romantics, but Stone Age people may have felt in the same way, like cave painters, who seem to be speaking to us from a familiar but distant universe. The most notable features of the cave are the frescoes, animal skulls and stalactites of various shapes. Murals are the most characteristic of the three landscapes.Imagine the ancients lighting a fire in the cave, casting shadows on the mural, and dancing with the mural in the glow and moving natural light.Since the cave itself is not flat, ancient artists used it to create in 3D painting. What is more amazing is that the ancient artists showed the dynamic movement of animals by drawing many legs, which undoubtedly made the murals more vivid. The most impressive picture in the mural is that of four horses running at the same time, it reminds me of the galloping horse drawing by the Chinese painter Xu Beihong. The two paintings share the same characteristics, both of which adopt bold and unconstrained lines and freehand brushwork, and focus on depicting the charm and temperament of horses. The horse in the painting is vigorous and light. It has the aesthetic feeling. The skulls in the caves were arranged in a deliberate way, probably representing a place of worship that had been eroded by water and soil to resemble pieces of fine porcelain.

The process of making this documentary was also difficult. The cave is under the watchful eye of the French government and is completely off-limits to the public. Herzog had special permission from the French culture ministry to enter, but it was also strictly controlled: they had to wear certain clothes and shoes, could not communicate with the outside world, could not touch anything, and could only move within the built walkway. The crew can't be more than four people, which means that only the director, cameraman, sound engineer and an assistant are allowed in. Each person has their own job, and the director has to operate portable, non-heating lighting equipment. All equipment must be battery-powered, no wires. After the 3D camera assembly is large, it is difficult to enter the hole, so it is assembled in the hole. Under such conditions they were allowed to film for six days, four hours a day.

Herzog's documentary, shot in a narrow space, also has a dramatic effect. It is a pilgrimage through French cave paintings 30,000 years ago, which makes the film more surreal and artistic style beyond time and history.Background music is creative, it is full of wildness and power, combined with the documentary images so that the audience better back to the ancient times.When those prehistoric murals unfold before your eyes, in addition to beauty, is shocked, we marvel at the greatness of human creativity.