The story starts in 1879 with our small family of dad, mum and daughter. Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, played by Antonio Banderas (The Other Man, Frida), is a Spanish nobleman and passionate amateur archaeologist who lives a tranquil life in Cantabria, Spain, with his deeply devout wife, Conchita, Golshifteh Farahani (VTC, Hood Witch, The Night Eats the World, Paterson, Alpha, About Elly), and their inquisitive young daughter, María (portrayed by Allegra Allen).
While exploring a local cave system on their land, María ventures deeper into a low-ceilinged side chamber while her father digs for stone tools. Looking up, she notices paintings of galloping bison and other animals on the rock ceiling. Marcelino realises that these paintings must have been crafted by prehistoric humans tens of thousands of years ago - long before modern civilisation was thought to exist. Excited by the find, Marcelino publishes his work, expecting the scientific and religious communities to celebrate the milestone, but instead, the discovery triggers intense pushback from both sides.
Monseigneur (Rupert Everett), an uncompromising religious leader, sees the claim that "prehistoric savages" were capable of high art and lived tens of thousands of years ago as a direct assault on his Catholic belief system. He fears the fallout if taken seriously, adding momentum to the rise of science and Darwin's theory of evolution. In order to attempt to quash the discoveries, he manipulates Conchita’s religious devotion, pressuring her to save her husband's 'soul' and steer María away from Marcelino's "heretical" scientific pursuits. Expected scientific allies prove equally dogmatic. Leading French prehistorian Édouard Cartailhac and Spanish academics publicly condemn Marcelino as an impostor. They argue that Palaeolithic humans lacked the intellectual capacity for true art, dismissing the paintings as a modern hoax forged by an artist friend of Marcelino.
The public humiliation destroys Marcelino’s reputation. His relationship with Conchita is threatened under the strain of her guilt and Monseigneur’s interference. Heartbroken and disgraced, Marcelino locks the cave gates and falls into a deep depression, while María feels responsible for the rift between her parents. Conchita eventually realises that her husband's love for truth does not make him evil, nor does it threaten her belief system. Seeing the toll the scandal has taken on their family, she confronts her own religious rigidity, rejects Monseigneur’s manipulation and reunites with Marcelino in quiet solidarity.
The main three players do a terrific job, especially the little girl playing María - and of course Golshifteh can do no wrong! She doesn't have as much screen time as the equally terrific Banderas, but when she's facing the camera, whatever her role, she seems to me to be totally convincing - a great actress of our time indeed. Rupert Everett plays the monstrous religious man, and he plays it brilliantly scarily, barking out his beliefs! He's a big actor and his character towers over whoever he's judging and tearing a strip off, which he does regularly, especially Conchita!
The sets are very nicely done and the tone of the era is replicated nicely inside their house of privilege, the countryside, the city and the cave in question. The costumes are sumptuous, and director Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan) ensures that lighting, shadow and colours are interestingly portrayed - along with some dreamy scenes of bison that María 'sees'.
So it's a drama based on the facts of the case, though it never meanders into documentary territory. We find out in the latter stages of the film what happens to the people involved and even, finally, jump twenty years ahead in order to witness the long-term fallout regarding the discoveries, and later on, other similar ones. We can read all about the background on Wikipedia of course but if you want to know here, then here's an appraisal.
Years later, similar prehistoric cave paintings are uncovered in France (such as Lascaux and Font-de-Gaulle). Édouard Cartailhac is forced to admit his error and publishes a famous retraction titled "Mea Culpa d'un Électrobiologiste" ("A Skeptic's Mea Culpa"), formally apologising to an adult María and restoring Marcelino’s place in history. It's a tragic tale which forms part of the notable chapters in the history of archaeology. The artwork dates back to the Magdalenian and Solutrean periods (between 14,000 and 36,000 years ago). The artists used natural bumps and contours in the limestone ceiling to give their painted bison, horses and deer three-dimensional volume and movement.
In the late 19th century, the scientific community believed early humans were primitive, ape-like "savages" incapable of abstract thought, let alone masterwork painting using charcoal and red ochre pigments. The preservation was so remarkable that experts believed no paint could survive 15,000 years inside a humid cave without flaking away. It wasn't until 1902, 14 years after Marcelino’s death, that Cartailhac and the French Prehistoric Congress officially acknowledged Altamira's authenticity.
Because the moisture and carbon dioxide from millions of visitors began causing mould and damaging the delicate pigments, the original cave was permanently closed to the public in 2002. Today, visitors to Santillana del Mar can visit the Neocave, a meticulous, millimetre-perfect replica museum built nearby that reproduces the cave paintings exactly as María and her father saw them in 1879.
No comments:
Post a Comment