Rescue Dawn (2007)

Overall rating from 1 to 100: 91

O Masterpiece (95-100)
X Excellent (75-94)
O Good video rental (60-74)
O Merely OK (50-59)
O Pure mediocrity (30-49)
O Medusa: don't watch (1-29)

Review by Jason Pyles / August 4, 2007

Some movies you just don’t forget. I think “Rescue Dawn” is one of them.

Famed German director Werner Herzog brings us a Vietnam War drama inspired by true events from the life of an American pilot named Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale). This film is, perhaps, a further exploration of Herzog’s documentary called “Little Dieter Needs to Fly” (1997).

Dieter Dengler is a pilot who is shot down during his first mission in 1965. His air-bombing mission over Laos is illegal, and therefore, top secret. Dengler survives the crash (apparently, he has a knack for that). Soon he is captured by the Viet Cong and experiences the harrowing life of a POW camp. But Dengler is not alone. He becomes fast friends with the other prisoners, particularly another American named Duane (Steve Zahn).

“Rescue Dawn” is rated PG-13. The violence and torture depicted are relatively mild, though still upsetting. But as my colleague Luke Hickman observes, “Rescue Dawn” isn’t your typical, bleak, Vietnam movie. It isn’t a story about war but about friendship, inner strength and resilience.

Herzog is one of those legendary directors, one who is often associated with madness. The mere filming in exotic locations is always part of the tension and danger of his movies. Herzog’s work includes (but is not limited to) “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972), “Fitzcarraldo” (1982) and more recently, “Grizzly Man” (2005). Many of his films are documentaries, but all of them could supply material for “making of” documentaries. For example, the insane feat that “Fitzcarraldo” is based on was actually executed by Herzog “in real life” for the filming of the movie. Accordingly, there is a making-of documentary called “Burden of Dreams” (1982).

If you get a chance, get acquainted with Herzog; “Rescue Dawn” is as good a place as any to begin. I’ll just mention two points of excellence (among many) from this film: A POW’s diet is limited to things that we might consider inedible. There is, of course, such a scene and actor Christian Bale performs this feat with enthusiasm. Unforgettable. (I’m talking, he deserves to receive the Best Actor Academy Award by default, hands down, no questions asked.)

Another aspect I loved was the way Herzog and his cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger use the thick vegetation of the shooting location in Thailand to fill the frame of the camera lens. When we see our protagonist tearing and pulling through the thick jungle, it appears as though he is being eaten by a foliage monster.

In short, “Rescue Dawn” is horrifying, touching, inspiring and marvelous. I highly recommend it.

Directed by Werner Herzog
Christian Bale / Steve Zahn / Jeremy Davies
126 min. Drama / War
MPAA: PG-13 (for some sequences of intense war violence and torture)

Copyright 2007.
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