Quest for Fire (1981)

Without even a bar from "Thus Spake Zarathustra", Jean-Jacques Annaud takes us on some brutal and authentic time travel back to caveman days. That's where we encounter three warriors who are violently dispossessed of their home (and their fire) and find themselves at the mercy of the wilderness, the weather, the wildlife and some other tribesman who are perfectly happy to endorse the kill first speak afterwards philosophy. On that latter point, a whole new series of verbal communications - not words as such - has been developed for an on form Ron Perlman ("Amoukar"), Everett McGill ("Naoh") and Nicholas Kadi ("Gaw) to use as they roam in search of their stolen life giving element. The dynamic amongst the three friends becomes a little complicated when they are captured and escape with the addition of "Ika" (Rae Dawn Chong) who arouses in them passions hitherto suppressed. It's the bleakness and simplicity that makes this film work. They are dirty, injured, bleeding, tired, exhausted - indeed watching it can be quite a tiring experience as nature makes it quite clear that before man began to cultivate it's brain, it was mid-table on the chart of evolution and at a distinct disadvantage most of the time when facing the animal kingdom. Will they find fire? What will they do with it if they do? Well I found myself quite enthralled by their journey, the complete lack of a traditional script and a look at an existence that really was survival of the fittest, tempered by some quite human - even funny - moments.