Quest For Fire (1981)
Quest for Fire, or “La guerre du feu” to give it it’s original title, is a challenging, daring and very unique film. Based on the 1911 Belgian novel by J.H. Rosny Sr. director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose and The Bear) has fashioned a caveman flick that is a million miles away from the likes of Hammer’s 1966 One Million Years B.C. Unlike the Raquel Welch vehicle Quest for Fire lacks photogenic cavemen and has no need for stop-motion dinosaurs, however it does share a lack of comprehensible dialogue or subtitles to make it easier to understand what’s going on.
The lack of subtitles shouldn’t matter too much as the story is very simplistic. Three prehistoric tribesmen from the Ulam tribe – Noah (Everett McGill), Amoukar (Ron Perlman) and Gaw (Nameer al-Kadi) – set out to find a new fire source when their own is snuffed out – their survival depends on it. The thing is that their fire had been obtained from a natural source and kept within a bone satchel to protect it from the elements. The tribe had sussed that they needed to maintain the fire by feeding it but no inclination as to how to start one. Matters have been complicated for the tribe as they have been driven from their home after failing in battle against another tribe, the Wagabu, and without fire they will die from being exposed to the elements or starvation.
Noah, Amoukar and Gaw set out on a quest for fire through uncharted land encountering en route hostile tribes, sabre-toothed cats, woolly Mammoths, a protective bear and an unexpected plunge into quicksand. For Noah there’s also the matter of an unfortunate bite to his naughty bits, inflicted during a scrap with another tribe, hampering his well-being. There’s also a troubling shrill noise following them around, in the form of Ika (Rae Dawn Chong). Initially the three tribesmen do their best to shake Ika off their trail until they see the benefits to be had by having her join them such as her fellating Noah back to a fuller recovery.
Sold, by the film’s tagline, as a science fantasy adventure, Quest for Fire is an imaginary recreation of our past rather than looking to be a factually correct documentation of it. It’s a film that you’ll either buy into or switch off. There’s no middle ground with Annaud’s bold enterprise. It can take a short while to warm to and I’m sure there will be many people thinking there really should be subtitles for it, a lack of that adds to the authenticity of what’s occurring on screen, truly creating an environment quite unlike any prior prehistoric beast that has graced cinemas before or after.
Anthony Burgess, author of the novel and film A Clockwork Orange, created the language used by the cavemen. Having created ’Nasdat’ for the anarchic lead characters the aforementioned landmark novel Burgess was a natural choice for creating a unique language for Annaud’s film. To further enhance the believability of the characters on-screen, renowned zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris came on-board to choreograph the body language and gestures for the actors to use.
To capture the feel of Paleolithic Europe 80,000 years ago, Annaud insisted upon using real locations rather than matte paintings and other assorted visual effect techniques of the time. Everything shown on film was shot live with nothing added in pre-production which was Annaud’s preference. He selected environmentally protected locations in three countries – Canada, Kenya and Scotland – along with Iceland. As a consequence Quest for Fire is astonishing to behold.
As I mentioned before there’s a short settling-in period to adapt to Annaud’s picture. It feels almost alien to have a film not spoon-feed the audience with exposition and for the viewer to figure out for themselves from subtitle-free dialogue and the performances exactly what is occurring on-screen. There are moments were you’ll laugh, such as the unexpected mounting of a woman for some caveman sexiness, and then question yourself as to whether it wasn’t rather infantile to do so.
Quest for Fire marks noted actor Ron Perlman’s film début, still recognisable under five-hour’s worth of make-up. You may also recognise Rae Dawn Chong as Ika, who went on to star in The Color Purple and Commando. Both are exceptional here as are the cast generally, breathing life into what could have been an otherwise embarrassing venture. Our lead Everett McGill, like Perlman, went on to demonstrate a preference for unconventional projects excelling in TV’s Twin Peaks and on the big screen in the underrated The People Under the Stairs.
This is a very welcome release with excellent extras – the acting workshops, the director recounting amusing on-set anecdotes – and the picture is crisp and for film fans that like something a little different to the conventional, this is a must have for their collection.
