Mainstream fans of 3D cave films will flock to Sanctum – and we say let them.
For the spelunking connoisseur, maverick’s maverick Werner Herzog (seemingly at his most ubiquitous as he nears his 70s) is the only show in town.
This doc doesn’t have the rattling impact of Grizzly Man or even the more willfully oblique Encounters At The End Of The World, but exploring Southern France’s Chauvet cave system, and the 32,000-year-old paintings contained within, is an inspired use of 3D.
Herzog himself is in raptures: “It’s almost a form of proto-cinema!” he says. “It’s as if the modern human soul had awakened here!” he adds.
After the millionth lingering shot of a cave wall, you may be less enthused, but this is still a worthwhile trip.
