The biggest compliment I can give Werner Herzog and his crew is this: Rescue Dawn is the most most well developed plot of this year.
Rescue Dawn follows Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) and his struggle to survive in the jungles during the early stages of Vietnam.
All Dieter Dengler has ever wanted was to be a pilot. He was pretty much neutral when it came to war, but his main reason for signing up for military service was so he could fly. His one and only passion.
His first mission was a heavily classified mission in Laos. Dieter is shot down and begins on the run in the jungle. It doesn't take too long before he's captured and sent to a prison camp of sorts. He's locked up in Vietnamese huts with 5 other men. The two he immediately connects with are Duane (Steve Zahn) and to a lesser extent, Gene (Jeremy Davies) One thing becomes obvious quickly. His captors are relentlessly mean and his cell mates are borderline insane. Especially Gene. Dieter appears to be the only one who completely has it together.
Dieter becomes frustrated and quickly realizes he's not going to live much longer if he stays where he's at. Along with the 5 other fellows, Dieter plans his escape.
What Herzog does so brilliantly in this movie is set it all up to come full circle. In the opening scene, Bale and others mock a training video that tells you what to do if you are stuck in the jungle on your own only to end out needing similar skills when he's on the run. The 5 men all appear crazy and we wonder "What's with these guys? Is Dieter the only sane one in the bunch?" well, Herzog makes you feel claustrophobic in that camp. Slowly we see Dieter's mind go and start to understand that all of these fellows were probably just as sane at one point as Dieter.
This is a slow paced, expertly developed war drama. If you don't like slow moving character studies, avoid at all cost, but if you can even slightly appreciate such a thing, you will love Rescue Dawn. One of the better films of 07.
9/10
Rescue Dawn follows Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) and his struggle to survive in the jungles during the early stages of Vietnam.
All Dieter Dengler has ever wanted was to be a pilot. He was pretty much neutral when it came to war, but his main reason for signing up for military service was so he could fly. His one and only passion.
His first mission was a heavily classified mission in Laos. Dieter is shot down and begins on the run in the jungle. It doesn't take too long before he's captured and sent to a prison camp of sorts. He's locked up in Vietnamese huts with 5 other men. The two he immediately connects with are Duane (Steve Zahn) and to a lesser extent, Gene (Jeremy Davies) One thing becomes obvious quickly. His captors are relentlessly mean and his cell mates are borderline insane. Especially Gene. Dieter appears to be the only one who completely has it together.
Dieter becomes frustrated and quickly realizes he's not going to live much longer if he stays where he's at. Along with the 5 other fellows, Dieter plans his escape.
What Herzog does so brilliantly in this movie is set it all up to come full circle. In the opening scene, Bale and others mock a training video that tells you what to do if you are stuck in the jungle on your own only to end out needing similar skills when he's on the run. The 5 men all appear crazy and we wonder "What's with these guys? Is Dieter the only sane one in the bunch?" well, Herzog makes you feel claustrophobic in that camp. Slowly we see Dieter's mind go and start to understand that all of these fellows were probably just as sane at one point as Dieter.
This is a slow paced, expertly developed war drama. If you don't like slow moving character studies, avoid at all cost, but if you can even slightly appreciate such a thing, you will love Rescue Dawn. One of the better films of 07.
9/10