MTTM (#5) - Rescue Dawn

a film by Werner Herzog

ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS

Dieter Dengler, a US naval pilot who's shot down and taken prisoner, must orchestrate an escape through the imposing jungle landscapes of Loas (bordering Vietnam) with the help of his fellow POWs

HER TAKE

I remember when the buzz began about this film. I heard rumblings that this might be Oscar worthy as Best Picture as well as perhaps Christian Bale for Best Actor. So naturally, when I sat down to watch it, my expectations were a bit higher than usual.

Surprisingly, I was unmoved. I think my reaction is definitely in the minority among people who have seen this film but really it just didn’t stack up to many other wonderfully done wartime movies. I believe the problem was not lack of talent on any level, rather lack of much meat to an incredible story. It was filet minion to be sure, but only a 4 oz instead of a 16 oz. What we are left with is a lot of mashed potatoes, pasta, bread—filler. (Excuse the food references, I haven’t eaten dinner yet.)

Apparently, this is director Werner Herzog’s second attempt to tell the story of Dieter Dengler, the first being a documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly. I have not seen the documentary but I feel that I might have enjoyed that more. I say this only because sometimes these types of stories are better as documentaries. When you put a real face to a real event and hear them describe it with their own true words and emotions, the impact can be much greater than when you put a well known actor in its place. I suppose I’d have to see the documentary to make an accurate assessment.

There were some truly beautiful and tragic moments throughout, both plot wise and cinematically. It was surreal and quite sad to see all the violence, fear and terror juxtaposed against the backdrop of the peaceful and enchanting Vietnamese landscape. I can only imagine how insane that world must have been at that time; for both sides. As far as Vietnam stories go, it was interesting to see a little bit of what was going on before the war even began and it also explains a lot about the attitudes and treatment inside the prison camp.

Most notably (and this was discussed in earlier reviews) was Steve Zahn’s performance. I have loved Zahn in everything I’ve seen him in to date and his record only improves with this one. I’m so proud of him for stepping out of comedy into drama (despite retaining sidekick status) and really diving in. I would love to see more of this from him and look forward to seeing what doors it opens for him.

Christian Bale of course is a wonderful actor. When you go see a Christian Bale movie, you know that his performance is never going to leave you feeling anything except that he was born for that role. Despite the fact that he clearly owned this role, I felt like it was almost too easy for him…that perhaps, in comparison with some of his other roles (The Machinist and American Psycho) he was slightly unchallenged. Regardless, it’s still a good performance.

Finally, I am most surprised by the fact that the epilogue script (if that’s what it’s called?) did not include any mention of the other prisoners we encountered during the film. They were just as integral to the story as Dieter Dengler so I was a little disappointed that absolutely nothing was included about them to, in some way, finalize their fates and bring some closure to the viewer. Even a “the others were never heard from again” sort of thing would have been better than nothing! Oscar worthy movies don’t leave loose ends like that.

HIS TAKE

It isn’t until the final moments of Rescue Dawn, after every frame of film has run and some scrolling text rolls by, when you finally realize exactly what the film was all about to begin with.

It’s a love story… about a man and his plane.

Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) is a cheery – if slightly dim – naval pilot for the United States who during his first combat mission in the Vietnam War era is shot down over Laos. He manages to briefly elude capture but is ultimately caught and thrown into an internment camp with other prisoners of war.

Looking back on the film, the theme should have been obvious. Dengler is shot down early on and spends the rest of the film’s running time trying, like a lover separated from his other half, to return to his baby. It just happens to be a five ton piece of flying steel that’s caught his eye (he goes so far as to recant a story about falling in love at first sight with flying at the youthful age of five).

So unsurprisingly, Dieter plans his escape with some of the other POWs. One such prisoner is the almost unrecognizable Steve Zahn as Duane. Zahn lost forty pounds for the role and shows some impressive dramatic chops that some of his more wretched comedic work could never have hinted at (Saving Silverman, Daddy Day Care). There’s a sick desperation in Zahn’s face that seems to beg for rescue. Alas, for as good as he is, even in dramas he seems to be playing the sidekick role to Bale’s Dengler.

As the escape plan comes together, the only sparsely guarded prison (it doesn’t even have a watchtower) isn’t the biggest problem. In keeping with director Werner Herzog’s previous themes, it’s man vs. nature, or as Duane points out “the jungle is the prison.” In other words, even if they escape the camp, they have to find a way out of the vast and seemingly endless jungle.

Throughout it all though, Dengler remains committed and oddly optimistic. When fed an apparently inedible bowl of maggots, he grins and chows down. When faced with the opportunity to sign a treaty condemning the United States and avoid torture, Dengler simply states “I love America. America gave me wings. I will not sign this.”

From the moment he’s captured, Dengler never loses his beliefs. His blind faith brings to mind a quote from the outwardly unconnected and completely pertinent Punch-Drunk Love, “I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.”

Admittedly, the film doesn’t entirely work. The straightforward escape plans are not very intricate or cinematic and the movie moves along with an almost callous disinterest in everyone outside of Dieter, but when you look at this as a love story, as a man enduring torture and whatever else comes to him as a means for returning to what he loves, it works beautifully.

“No, I never wanted to go to war. I just wanted to fly,” says Dengler. Only a man so absolutely in love with flying would go back up in the air after this wreck… and Dieter managed to survive a further four more plane crashes.

HER RESPONSE
While our reviews differed pretty starkly I agree with everything you wrote. I never saw it as a love story between a man and his passion for flying but you're right, when you look at it like that, it's better. Also, I think that if I knew more about Werner Herzog's film making, I might have been able to spot his themes a bit better. So I suppose in this case, I played the role of the "average film goer" and if our ratings were only a half a star apart, I'd say it's a pretty solid film, despite its flaws.



HIS RESPONSE
Outside of possible acting nominations for Bale and Zahn, I'd agree that Rescue Dawn is not quite an Oscar-level film. If you're not looking at the film as a man fighting against both man and nature to return to his true passion (flying) then I'll admit at times it might feel rather straightforward and even simpleminded. But even in the vein of a 'prisoner of war escape' picture, I still found a lot to like, especially in the performances. Also, let me congratulate you... you have to be the first person to ever call acting in a movie directed by the notoriously tough-to-work-with Werner Herzog (or in a movie that required a weight loss of 55 pounds!) "unchallenging." Hahaha.

written by Brian and Rebecca