Rescue Dawn (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Rescue Dawn' is a war drama directed by Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man). This film tells the story of German-born Navy pilot, Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale). Shot down in Laos, Dengler is forced to organize an escape from a POW camp, stay alive, & hope for rescue before he's re-captured ... or before goes crazy. We're dealing with Werner Herzog here, so some scenes are bizarre. I didn't love the ending. But there's tension & truth in spades, here.
1965, Vietnam War: Dieter Dengler thinks he's a hot shot. He goes into his 1st top secret mission with confidence-galore, but is humbled quickly when his plane is shot down and he is captured as a POW. In the camp, he encounters an assortment of interesting prisoners, including Gene (an emaciated Jeremy Davies), & Duane (a stellar Steve Zahn). Dieter wants to break-out right away. But his new pals inform him that this isn't possible. The camp is run by men who patrol the grounds all day long, & lock them up at night (in some comic relief, we learn that Duane has the unfortunate habit of going #2 when in his shackles).
Nevertheless, after several months of waiting for the rainy season to commence, an escape plan is formulated. Using a mirror, some rice, & a variety of small tools, they make it off the grounds. But a difference of opinion splits them up, and it is Dieter & Duane who are forced to go it together for the time being. But as time goes on, & with a severe lack of food (eating worms would no longer do), Duane starts to lose his mind; who could blame him? Prisoner for 2 years, hopeless situation in the jungle, etc. And Dieter's mind isn't as alert as he'd like it to be, either. See, this plot is all about survival. Can they find food? What about poisonous creatures? Will the Viet-Cong get them? Will they ever be found? Can they focus their minds (hearing voices) & bodies and just. hold. on?
Without anything else to live for, will Dieter Dengler use his intelligence & strength to persevere, or will his body be vulnerable to nature's elements and/or the enemy? Christian Bale is fantastic in this role. How he is able to constantly gain weight & lose it all (and then some) for his movies is astounding. But weight gain/loss does not a good actor make. Bale's complex ponderings, off-beat personality, nuanced quirks, steely eyes, and boundless energy makes him one of today's most underrated actors. And Steve Zahn has shown here that he CAN play roles that offer a great emotional depth; and boy do things get emotional.
There's not much to frown upon in 'Rescue Dawn'. The cinematography is stunning (including an opening aerial montage of bombs exploding in remote Vietnam villages). The terrifying journey that our protagonists take through the wild is harrowing & riveting. Forget war sequences, forget politics. It's an old-fashioned adventure story, really. A recent film that echoes this formula was Apocalypto, I just personally prefer this one's execution. Though, I do have 2 small bones to pick. 1) Because we experience the closeness of the supporting characters so much; it just seemed strange for some to meet such an untimely fate. 2) I dislike the celebratory scene in the end when one character is saved. It just seemed sugar-coated & out of place. This aside, 'Rescue Dawn' is a sure winner.
1965, Vietnam War: Dieter Dengler thinks he's a hot shot. He goes into his 1st top secret mission with confidence-galore, but is humbled quickly when his plane is shot down and he is captured as a POW. In the camp, he encounters an assortment of interesting prisoners, including Gene (an emaciated Jeremy Davies), & Duane (a stellar Steve Zahn). Dieter wants to break-out right away. But his new pals inform him that this isn't possible. The camp is run by men who patrol the grounds all day long, & lock them up at night (in some comic relief, we learn that Duane has the unfortunate habit of going #2 when in his shackles).
Nevertheless, after several months of waiting for the rainy season to commence, an escape plan is formulated. Using a mirror, some rice, & a variety of small tools, they make it off the grounds. But a difference of opinion splits them up, and it is Dieter & Duane who are forced to go it together for the time being. But as time goes on, & with a severe lack of food (eating worms would no longer do), Duane starts to lose his mind; who could blame him? Prisoner for 2 years, hopeless situation in the jungle, etc. And Dieter's mind isn't as alert as he'd like it to be, either. See, this plot is all about survival. Can they find food? What about poisonous creatures? Will the Viet-Cong get them? Will they ever be found? Can they focus their minds (hearing voices) & bodies and just. hold. on?
Without anything else to live for, will Dieter Dengler use his intelligence & strength to persevere, or will his body be vulnerable to nature's elements and/or the enemy? Christian Bale is fantastic in this role. How he is able to constantly gain weight & lose it all (and then some) for his movies is astounding. But weight gain/loss does not a good actor make. Bale's complex ponderings, off-beat personality, nuanced quirks, steely eyes, and boundless energy makes him one of today's most underrated actors. And Steve Zahn has shown here that he CAN play roles that offer a great emotional depth; and boy do things get emotional.
There's not much to frown upon in 'Rescue Dawn'. The cinematography is stunning (including an opening aerial montage of bombs exploding in remote Vietnam villages). The terrifying journey that our protagonists take through the wild is harrowing & riveting. Forget war sequences, forget politics. It's an old-fashioned adventure story, really. A recent film that echoes this formula was Apocalypto, I just personally prefer this one's execution. Though, I do have 2 small bones to pick. 1) Because we experience the closeness of the supporting characters so much; it just seemed strange for some to meet such an untimely fate. 2) I dislike the celebratory scene in the end when one character is saved. It just seemed sugar-coated & out of place. This aside, 'Rescue Dawn' is a sure winner.