Natural prehistory comes to life in a series of special effects ‘attractions’ as Zeman’s charming adventure sees four boys enter a cave that transports them back to millions of years ago.

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While his subsequent film Invention for Destruction (1958) became the most successful Czech movie of all time, Journey to the Beginning of Time was Karel Zeman’s first big break. 

It even spawned an American cut with an English dub several years later, which wasn’t too bad.  But I recommend seeing the original Czech version because, in a language that is foreign to me, I find that the film does take on a magical, otherworldly touch. 

And otherworldly it is as Zeman transports us—and his quartet of young boys—back to millions of years ago.  There is no need for a high-tech DeLorean when you can just row a wooden boat into a mysterious cave. 

So these boys, most of the time naïve to the dangers around them, get to see the different prehistoric creatures that walked the Earth, rendered with what might be considered low-tech tools and old-school techniques. 

“My friends and I, we just had the best holiday ever!”

And it is in these handmade, organically constructed models, optical illusions, perspectival shooting and stop-motion animation that natural prehistory is brought to life in this charming adventure. 

Journey somehow reactivated my long-lost childhood interest in dinosaurs and strange creatures of the past—part of why Zeman’s film works, despite its predictable narrative, is due to its innocence and sincerity. 

Unlike Invention for Destruction or even The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962), Journey has that organic, scientific exploration, school excursion feel to it. 

While not exactly educational in the strictest sense, Zeman’s picture manages to, with his artistry of make-believe, vicariously quench my thirst for more knowledge, to put on my safari hat and join some expedition into the heart of nature. 

Grade: B+

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