The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
August 6th, 2008
This book, and its sequels, was all over the place when I was a young lad in the 80’s. It was a feminist take on cave men, with mysterious Neanderthals — soon to be supplanted by the blonder and buffer Cro Magnons — holding onto ancient telepathic ancestral knowledge. Or something like that.
I liked the first book, but I thought the sequels got silly. Blonde heroine Ayla, banished by the Neanderthals for teaching herself to use weapons, ran into some dreamy Cro Magnon hunk and travelled the world with him, taming horses, planting herbs, practicing healing arts, and inventing just about everything.
I’m sorry to have to say it, but the sequels were very chickish.
That’s the books. The movie is just awful. The only thing it has going for it is the fleeting curiosity of seeing how one director portrays prehistoric times, and of course the gorgeous Daryl Hannah as Ayla.
I do like cave man movies, even though most of them are awful. See One Million Years B.C.
Instead of this movie, I’d recommend Quest for Fire. I’m planning to watch it again sometime soon and write a review. At least it has Rae Dawn Chong naked.
