Quest for Fire (1982)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Such a frustrating disappointment

Just what I expected

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This movie begins approximately 80,000 years ago with a primitive tribe known as the "Ulam" huddled in a cave around a large fire. Unaware of how to actually start a fire this particular resource is so valuable to them they keep it going at all times. Unfortunately, when an even more primitive tribe called the "Wagebu" attack their encampment the Ulam tribe is forced to abandon their fire. However, prior to this surprise attack, the tribe had taken the precaution of creating a portable device to keep the embers alive long enough to restart a fire should they be forced to relocate to a new location in just such an emergency. What the tribe doesn't count on, however, is an attack by a pack of wolves which forces them into a swamp and their portable fire subsequently being extinguished by water. This results in the patriarch of the tribe selecting three young men to leave the group in order to find a new source of fire and then to bring it back to the rest of the group who are now left to suffer in the cold and wet environment that they now inhabit. Yet even though these three men face all kinds of challenges along the way they also encounter new situations which further increases their knowledge as well. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie, I will just say that this turned out to be a fascinating film which managed to combine some rather imaginative history with both humor and human drama in a such a way as to produce a highly entertaining movie. Admittedly, the dialogue is extremely basic and the actors are required to improvise as best as they can in several scenes. But even then they perform more than adequately for the task at hand. That said, however, there are a couple of scenes of a sexual nature which are clearly not suitable for young audiences. In any case, I liked this film and encourage all mature viewers with an open mind to give it a look. Definitely above average.

In terms of what the movie is about and the time period of human existence the film deals with no other production comes to close to depicting and dealing with the topic of the surge of mankind in such a true, honest, subtle, but yet ambitious manner. This film is a must see for intellectuals, students and anyone having a keen interest of origin and history. The close minded, ignorant or disinterested should seek something else to do and as most people apply to the latter this is why the film is so underrated. As the Quest for Fire was made in the early eighties and a lot of insight and knowledge about prehistoric times has been gained since then this movie needs to desperately be remade for today's audience.

Stanley Kubrick's classic "2001" celebrates the first weapon, when a hairy primate through some burst of savage genius turns a useless thigh-bone into a dominating club. He thereby takes a giant first step in humanity's long pursuit of bigger and better weapons. On the other hand, "Quest for Fire" dramatizes humanity's other side: the civilizing arrival of the campfire. But not just any campfire; instead it's the security found in mastering the technique to make fire any time the tribe wants. As a result, the Cro-Magnons have for the first time some control over their environment and can take time to relax. That's made apparent at film's end when the clan gathers happily around crackling embers to relate stories through crude gestures and grunts. Perhaps the evolution of complex linguistic forms had its origins in just such relaxed moments, when imagination and thinking could take hold and get expression in the company of others.There's also that overlooked moment when Naoh humbly approaches the lordly herd of marauding mastodons. Tufts of grass in hand, he bows his head in an unmistakable gesture of submission, to which the herd responds-- not very plausibly --by chasing away the attacking cannibal clan. The point here is that Naoh understands in that quiet moment that we must live humbly with those forces much greater than ourselves if we want to survive-- a possible seed of what would later become religious belief, whether in the forces of nature or in the supposed power of the supernatural.Of course, this is all speculation. The filmmakers don't exactly hit you over the head with their messages. However, the point is that the film succeeds admirably in getting you to think about the natural history of what these lowly but momentous origins must have been like. Moreover, there are other suggestive moments, such as when the camera transitions from Rae Dawn Chong's pregnant belly to the distant full moon and humanity's far-off future. Some reviewers point out scientific flaws in the script and reject the film on that basis. But that misses the point. Of course the film is not a documentary, so no serious researcher would base a study on it. Nonetheless, the movie remains just that, a well-staged and provocative ninety minutes of unusual filmmaking. I've seen nothing like it before or since.

Three bumbling, but amiable and persistent caveman embark on an epic and perilous journey to discover a new source of fire for their tribe. During their pilgrimage our trio have memorable encounters with savage wolves, equally vicious saber-tooth tigers, woolly mammoths (in an extremely moving sequence one of the cavemen gives a mammoth a clump of grass as a peace offering), several nasty rival tribes (a cannibalistic bunch of ugly apemen are especially foul and frightening), and a protective mother bear. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and writer Gerard Brach do a simply amazing job of creating and presenting a thoroughly believable depiction of a harsh, strange, and oddly beautiful past world. Everett McGill, Ron Perlman (in his film debut), and Nicholas Kadi do remarkably agile and convincing physical acting as our three protagonists; they manage to make these characters funny, charming, and even touching. Rae Dawn Chong likewise shines as Ika, a sexy and vibrant member of a more advanced mud-smeared tribe the guys run across on their travels. This film earns bonus points for its candid, yet tasteful treatment of primitive man's sexuality, the sublimely simple, but still gripping narrative, and a few nice amounts of inspired humor. Claude Agostini's sumptuous widescreen cinematography delivers a wealth of stunning visuals and makes the most out of the breathtaking landscapes. Yves Langlois also deserves praise for his highly rousing and majestic orchestral score. Essential viewing.