The visual trick that is 3D cinema is designed to heighten reality but, in my experience, makes it less convincing. Presumably it will one day become the norm and it will seem less jarringly hyperreal to brains adjusted to two-dimensional moving images.
But for German director Herzog's trip below ground into the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave in the Ardeche, just north of Marseille, the technology is thrillingly, dizzyingly useful. The sensuous curves of wall daubed with ravishing paintings that have been carbon-dated at up to 34,000 years old seem close enough to touch.
The flickering lamplight on images of eight-legged bison create the inescapable impression of movement and sustain Herzog's claim that these painters were the first animators. (Picasso was even more enthusiastic, remarking when he was led through Lascaux, "they invented everything").
This cave was discovered only in 1994, by three explorers who, fortunately, knew the significance of what they had found. So unlike Altamira in northern Spain or Lascaux in the Dordogne, the wonders it contained were not subjected to the damage inflicted by casual intruders and organised sightseers. It was immediately closed to all but scientific investigation.
Plans are afoot for a precise replica, based on 3D digital mapping, and the French authorities' willingness to collaborate with Herzog is doubtless part of the long-term marketing plan of what will become a major tourist attraction. In the meantime, we have a film that is as good as being there.
