Quest for Fire is a divisive film that dangerously skirts the line between the sublime and the ridiculous. A lot of viewers will see it as laughably ropey and pretentious with its cast of barely clothed and prosthetic laden cavemen speaking only in unintelligible grunts in what is basically an extended version of the opening scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. But for less cynical and more open-minded audience members who can get past the initially jarring and perhaps inherently comedic concept, as well as the somewhat dated practical effects, this works as not only an exciting and unique adventure film but an immersive, thought-provoking and strangely moving experience.
This is one of Jean-Jaques Annaud’s earliest efforts; the French auteur made his name with commercials but would go on to great success with the likes of The Name of the Rose, Seven Years in Tibet and Enemy at the Gates. It’s no wonder the man specialises in historical drama as his talent lies in creating atmosphere. His films have had varying levels of success in terms of storytelling but, thanks to his painstaking research and dedication, they always manage to convincingly transport the audience to the time and place in which they’re set.
That devotion was never more evident than with Quest for Fire. Annaud spent four years struggling to bring it to the screen including a torturous year-long shoot as his crew struggled to film the epic adventure in some of the most inhospitable but primordially beautiful parts of Scotland, Canada and Kenya, all of which double for Palaeolithic Europe of 80,000 years ago. This is a time when human beings were far from being top of the food chain and life was an ugly, brutal struggle for survival.
We’re introduced to a cave-dwelling tribe called the Ulam whose most precious possession is the fire that they’ve apparently been keeping lit for generations. They know how to maintain the flame but don’t know how to create it, so when a run in with some marauding Neanderthals leads to it being extinguished, their days seem to be numbered. That is unless three of their young hunters, Amoukar (Ron Perlman), Naoh (Everett McGill) and Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi), can find another source. On their quest they meet Ika (Rae Dawn Chong), who comes from another tribe which is much more advanced (and much more naked) than the Ulam, and helps the three cavemen move one step close towards civilisation.
Although the story is obviously entirely fictional and anthropologists still disagree about what exactly our ancestors were up to at this point, Annaud enlisted the help of various experts to make his glimpse into our past an educated guess. Author and linguist Anthony Burgess created the language spoken by our onscreen relatives and famed zoologist Desmond Morris choreographed their movement. This all adds up to create a world that feels entirely real even if it’s contradicted by more recent discoveries. For example, given what we now know about them it’s kind of unfair to portray the Neanderthals as bloodthirsty monsters.
The language put together by Burgess also feels authentic and recognisable despite being utterly incomprehensible (although on repeat viewings you do start to recognise certain words) and there are no subtitles to give you a clue as to what’s being discussed. So it’s completely down to the actor’s physical performances to sell the plot. Luckily they’re all totally believable and manage to get across the distinctive personalities of their characters through the grunting and prosthetics.
Sadly, most of the cast seem to have vanished into B-Movie obscurity since the film’s release, apart from Perlman of course, who went on to make giving amazing performances whilst often being covered in monster makeup. This was his first feature but you can already see the combination of imposing physicality and comedic warmth that he would later put to good use in the Hellboy films.
The prosthetics worn by the main cast are pretty subtle; essentially they’re all just given Cro-Magnon foreheads and jaws. But the masks created for the Neanderthals are much more dated, especially in the harsh clarity of High Definition. However, the film’s reliance on inventive practical effects is part of its charm. If it were made today (which it wouldn’t be) the prehistoric animals featured in it would certainly be CGI creations, which while slickly and realistically designed wouldn’t convince as part of the real world. As it is the woolly mammoths the cavemen encounter are played by a herd of elephants coated in fur and the sabre tooth tigers that prey on them are portrayed by lions that have had fake teeth attached by some brave soul.
Although it’s immediately obvious that’s how the beasts were created they still feel entirely real. And in fact they were, Annaud borrowed the animals from a circus and actually had them capering about the Scottish highlands. That kind of mad innovation isn’t really allowed in big-budget cinema anymore, at least since Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, and it’s fantastically nostalgic and enjoyable to see it in action.
As I’ve said, there are plenty of cynical eye-rolling types who won’t find any enjoyment in Quest for Fire other than to laugh at it, but there is plenty of deliberate humour as well. The whole cast, especially Perlman and El-Kadi (who worked as a mime before landing the part of Gaw), get to dabble in what is essentially silent comedy and a lot of the laughs come from the fact that we can recognise our own emotions and behaviour in them but they also seem like naive children to our modern eyes. But seeing the world through their eyes also produces some of the most moving scenes, the scene where Naoh first realises that fire can be created by man and what this means for his tribe’s survival is an almost overwhelmingly emotional moment.
By the film’s hauntingly beautiful final shot it’s clear that not only was Annaud proud and respectful of where we came from, he was also full of hope for where we’re heading. And, if this truly unique film manages to work for you, that’s the feeling you’re left with as the credits role. At least until you catch a trailer for Grown-Ups 2; then it all goes out the window.
The extras are the same as were included on the film’s last DVD release but they’re still pretty extensive. There’s an enlightening commentary from Annaud and a light-hearted one from Perlman, Rae Dawn Chong and Producer Michael Gruskoff in which the actors reveal exactly how gruelling the shoot was for them. There’s also an in-depth interview with Annaud about the film’s genesis and a wonderful vintage making-of released at the same time as the film. It shows Anthony Burgess and Desmond Morris at work creating the cavemen’s language and movement and also has Annaud announcing that his film is incredibly expensive it cost over $10 Million! Times have changed.
Overall Verdict: You’ll know within moments of Quest for Fire beginning if it’s going to work for you; if it doesn’t you may just find it unintentionally hilarious, if it does, it’s a breathtakingly beautifully shot and masterfully and movingly acted adventure into humanity’s formative years that will stand the test of time.
Special Features:
Director’s Commentary
Commentary with actors Ron Perlman and Rae Dawn Chong and Producer Michael Gruskoff
The Making of Quest for Fire
Interview with Director Jean-Jaques Annaud
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon