Finding Altamira

Focusing on the conflict between religion and science, this historical drama revolves around the 1879 discovery of a cavern in Northern Spain that is filled with prehistoric paintings of galloping bison. Amateur archeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola y de la Pedrueca (Antonio Banderas) and his 9-year-old daughter Maria (Allegra Allen) enjoy roaming the countryside of Cantabria, observing nature and chronicling their findings. One day, Maria accidentally stumbles into a cave, where she spies the remarkable etchings, and her observations ignite vivid nightmares concerning her devout mother, Conchita (Golshifteh Farahani). Meanwhile, Marcelino comes to believe that these artifacts are from the end of the Paleolithic era—some 10,000 years earlier—which is in direct opposition to the biblical teachings of the Catholic Church. His astonishing assertion is repudiated by local skeptics De Los Rios (Henry Goodman) and the Monsignor (Rupert Everett), and when Marcelino presents his conclusions at the Prehistoric Congress in Lisbon in 1880, he is publicly ridiculed by eminent French historian Emile Cartailhac (Clément Sibony), who argues that prehistoric man was incapable of such artistic achievement. Directed by Hugh Hudson, this is overall an unimaginative period drama, with the most emotional resonance found in the poignant father/daughter bond, while a subplot involving Conchita and a local painter (Pierre Niney) seems superfluous. Optional. (S. Granger)