Rescue Dawn

Release date: July 6, 2007
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies

In Rescue Dawn, acclaimed director Werner Herzog has brought his uncompromising vision and eye for realism to a subject he's well versed in. Ten years after Little Dieter Needs To Fly, Herzog's documentary on German-American fighter pilot Dieter Dengler, he's brought the true story of Dengler's time in a Vietnamese POW camp to life.

The movie opens with Dieter (Bale) getting ready for a top-secret mission during the Vietnam War. About 10 minutes in, he's shot down by anti-aircraft weapons and immediately exclaims, "I will not jump out!" to his commanding officer. He goes down with his plane and runs into the dense and dangerous jungle, desperately trying to escape the Viet Cong.

While doing his best to evade them, he's caught after succumbing to the jungle's intense heat by stopping to take a drink of water. From here, Dieter is put through intense, primitive torture rituals, such as being tied upside down with a beehive next to his face for an entire day. He endures, and before long, he's sent to a prison camp, where he meets two fellow Americans, Duane (Zahn) and Gene (Davies).

The bulk of the film is spent inside the camp, where Dieter thinks of ways to escape. His will to survive is what carries the movie forward, as he encourages his cellmates to help him overthrow the guards and make their way out of the camp. Zahn and Davies are both excellent in their roles as prisoners who've been kept there for over two years and who both slowly unveil more signs of madness as the film progresses.

Herzog is a master when it comes to scenes such as this, as he films the movie with a neo-factualist style, making it seem like you're watching a documentary rather than a feature film. When Dieter argues with Duane and Gene, each displaying varying degrees of insanity, the realism is gripping to watch.

Bale deserves just as much credit for once again proving he has far more to offer than a grim face and gravely voice, as his mainstream films would lead most to believe. He carries the film by portraying Dieter as a man who's determined and resourceful, but also slowly going mad. While other Vietnam-based films display the hopelessness of the war in an overbearingly depressing fashion, Herzog uses hope and determination as the running theme.

Between Herzog's knack for making extremely immersive film experiences and Bale's unfaltering performance, you'd be hard pressed to find a more engaging survival movie.