In the beginning there was fire
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | In the beginning there was fire |
| Original title | La guerre du feu |
| Country of production | Canada , France , USA |
| original language | no |
| Publishing year | 1981 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| script | Gérard Brach |
| production |
Véra Belmont Jacques Dorfmann Denis Héroux John Kemeny |
| music | Philippe Sarde |
| camera | Claude Agostini |
| cut | Yves Langlois |
| occupation | |
| |
In the beginning was the fire (original title: La Guerre du feu ) is an adventure film from 1981 based on the novel by J.-H. Rosny aîné directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud .
action
The stories of a small group of Neanderthals during the Stone Age are told . The tribe of the "Ulamm" is attacked by a group of Homo erectus , the Wagabu. For the few surviving Ulamms, it is an additional great misfortune that they run out of fire after the fight, because they do not know the technology to start a new fire . They are threatened with death from the cold and wild animals that can no longer be kept away by the fire. Therefore, the three young hunters Naoh, Amoukar and Gaw are sent to search for new fire and bring it to the tribe.
On their dangerous hike, they first flee from two saber-toothed cats and save themselves in a tree where they have to remain for a long time. Then they discover a cloud of smoke and try to find embers in the ashes of the now cold fire. Instead, they find leftovers of meat, which they eat until they find a human skull and discover that it is leftovers from a cannibalized meal. They follow the cannibals of the Kzamm tribe to their next resting place, where Amoukar and Gaw distract the tribesmen and Naoh tries to get the fire out. He kills two Kzamm, at the same time he frees a pair of Cro-Magnon people of the Ivaka, who are held captive and eaten by the cannibals (the man is already missing an arm). Ika, the woman, follows the Ulamm and joins them. The Kzamm pursue the Ulamm and catch them - at the same time a herd of mammoths appears , and Naoh succeeds in appeasing the lead animal and thus driving the Kzamm away.
One evening Ika is raped by Naoh, after which she disappears. On his hike back to the tribe, Naoh turns back to find Ika. He encounters Ivaka huts and sinks into a mud hole so that the Ivaka can take him prisoner. Ika can approach him and later shows him the technique of fire drilling and other skills. Amoukar and Gaw, who followed Naoh, also sink into the mud and are pulled out by the Ivaka. Together they can break free. Naoh kidnaps Ika during the escape, who then voluntarily moves with them and mates with Naoh .
Shortly thereafter, they encounter Ulamm hunters, led by Naoh's rival for the leadership of the tribe, Aghoo. Gaw is seriously injured by a cave bear , and the group is attacked by Aghoo and his men, but they can defend themselves and kill the hunters with the help of the modern Ivaka spears, which can be thrown much more accurately and further using spear throwers . They return home to their tribe, where they hand over the captured fire, which is, however, extinguished in a water hole by an accident. Naoh and Ika show the Ulamm how to make fire and become leaders of the tribe. At the end, Amoukar talks about the experiences of the three men in search of fire. In the final scenes, Naoh and Ika are shown in a tender embrace, Ika is pregnant and Naoh is caressing her stomach.
background
The entire film manages without a word that the viewer can understand. The constructed language used by the Stone Age people is an invention of the writer Anthony Burgess . Behavioral scientist Desmond Morris advised the actors on how to display primitive body gestures, among other things, particular attention was paid to the posture of the Neanderthals . Great emphasis was also placed on credibility.
The question of whether Neanderthals and modern humans had sexual contact has long been debated among scientists; in May 2010 this question was solved by scientists working with Svante Pääbo . It surprisingly turned out that this question could be answered with yes: The genetic similarities between Neanderthals and people outside Africa are greater than the similarities between Neanderthals and Africans.
Roland Emmerich cited his love for Annaud's film as one of the main influences on his 2008 film 10,000 BC .
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described the “carefully crafted adventure film” as “complex, exciting and also stimulating”, which “shocked with some blatant scenes of violence”. Cinema described the film as a “visually powerful evolutionary thriller” and certified it “credibility”.
Awards (selection)
Out of six nominations, the film won two Césars for Best Director and Best Picture in 1982 . In 1983 , Sarah Monzani and Michèle Burke won the Oscar and the BAFTA Film Award for best make-up . At the Genie Awards in 1983 he was able to prevail against the competition in five categories.
Web links
- In the beginning the fire was in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- In the beginning the fire was atRotten Tomatoes(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cinthia Briseño: Genome decoded: We are all a bit Neanderthals . In: Spiegel Online , May 6, 2010.
- ↑ WonderCon 2008: Day 2 - Part 1! . comingsoon.net, accessed March 21, 2008.
- ↑ In the beginning there was fire. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de