Rescue Dawn (DVD)

German-born US Navy Lieutenant Dieter Dengler is on his first mission during the Vietnam War when he is shot down and crash-lands in Laos. There he is captured by enemy troops that subject him to unspeakable torture. He is taken to a prison camp where he encounters a small group of dispirited and emaciated American prisoners including Duane. But Dieter refuses to be broken and throws all his ingenuity and determination into planning an escape. After ...
...themselves from their shackles, kill the sadistic guards and escape into the jungle. But this is just the beginning of their ordeal. The brutal jungle takes no prisoners and soon only Dieter and Duane are left alive. The question is whether they can survive…

Making a film with veteran director Werner Herzog has been likened to going to war. He is known for pushing his actors to their physical and mental limits in pursuit of truthful ... more

German-born US Navy Lieutenant Dieter Dengler is on his first mission during the Vietnam War when he is shot down and crash-lands in Laos. There he is captured by enemy troops that subject him to unspeakable torture. He is taken to a prison camp where he encounters a small group of dispirited and emaciated American prisoners including Duane. But Dieter refuses to be broken and throws all his ingenuity and determination into planning an escape. After months of meticulous planning, the prisoners are able to free themselves from their shackles, kill the sadistic guards and escape into the jungle. But this is just the beginning of their ordeal. The brutal jungle takes no prisoners and soon only Dieter and Duane are left alive. The question is whether they can survive…

Making a film with veteran director Werner Herzog has been likened to going to war. He is known for pushing his actors to their physical and mental limits in pursuit of truthful performances. That is certainly the case here where his leads look like they're on the verge of starvation and spend a great deal of time running barefoot through treacherous terrain, swimming across swollen rivers and seemingly doing all their own stunts. It results in a series of raw, edgy performances that sell the central conceit of the movie. It makes the film gruelling to watch, as you see the characters waste away before your eyes. But it also makes the film feel every one of its hundred-and-twenty-six minutes long because there is no respite for the players or the viewer.

Herzog's visual style is fairly traditional. He shoots on film with a dark palette that emphasises the seriousness of Dengler's predicament. It often feels like the camera is sneaking through the jungle with him when he is trying to evade capture. You are also aware of the size and intensity of the place through the constant insect and bird noise and the precariousness of the situation because of the frequent helicopter flypasts. There are some slightly hackneyed devices such as the use of blackouts between various tortures and the freeze frame ending and subtitled epilogue. They feel like they could have come from any recent war film. This is also true of the format of the movie. Herzog employs a linear narrative that begins with very serious looking white on black subtitles in Times New Roman font that are supposed to convey the veracity of the story. He uses contemporaneous footage of the Laotian bombings and landing in the country. This sets the film firmly in a time and place. He shows a military newsreel during the pilots' first briefing that sets the scene for them. But it is undercut by their flippant narrative that underlines the cockiness of the newly qualified flyers and acts as a strong contrast to what will come after.

There is little preamble before Dengler crashes his plane and his nightmare begins. The director is practised in creating and sustaining tension. He does this by inserting an element of uncertainty into the proceedings. Just when you think the characters have been through absolutely everything, something else occurs that makes their situation even worse. Herzog gives you no idea of what's coming next, so there are some very nasty surprises in store. So it doesn't exactly make for a pleasant viewing experience.

Herzog's screenplay is based on a true story and has angered the family of one of Dengler's fellow prison camp inmates. Eugene DeBruin's relatives are unhappy with the writer-director's portrayal of their loved one, which suggests he nearly scuppered their bid for freedom. They contend he was just as heroic as Dengler. But the German auteur has never been one to let the facts get ion the way of a good story. In many respects this is a boy's own adventure story, it's just that the outcomes are rather more grizzly. It is a story about man's ability to survive and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. Dengler is presented as the best a soldier can be; a man who loves his country but also feels for his fellow man. He is determined, resourceful and eternally optimistic, so you want him to survive. His fellow inmates are variously emotionally broken, almost unhinged and beaten down by their circumstances. The prison guards are brutal and more or less interchangeable, but Dengler's main interrogator treats the whole thing as a bureaucratic exercise. The dialogue is sparse in the main and could often be considered cheesy if not for the way it was delivered.

Christian Bale seems to be the go-to guy for putting himself through hell in the name of art. As with his performance in "The Machinist", as Dieter Dengler he shed the majority of his bodyweight to convincingly portray a man on the verge of starvation. Although it shows a commendable level of commitment to the role it does bring into question how healthy it is for the actor to do this on such a regular basis. His weight loss also threatens to distract from his performance. Not only is he skeletal, but he is dragged behind an ox, hung upside down over an ants' nest and nearly drowned. Bale plays Dengler as a cocky young guy whose manic demeanour could be more than a little irritating, but it is underscored by unwavering determination that makes him more endearing.

Steve Zahn proves he can be more than a comedy sidekick as Duane. His cynicism prevents him from being a simple victim. But he really runs the gamut as a wild-eyed, beardy, wizened prisoner-of-war whose emotional and mental wellbeing unravel at pace as the story progresses. Meanwhile Jeremy Davies plays Gene as a guy with some serious bats in his belfry whose conviction that he will be released is nearly his undoing.

The original music by Klaus Badelt opens with a piano melody swelling with strings and harps that sets the serious tone for the movie. He's very good at creating atmosphere as with the forbidding drums and reverberating soundscapes that accompany the Viet Cong hunting Dengler and the rising ad falling serious string and harp melodies that back his torture. Tense moments are underlined with echoing drums and timpani. The disorientation of the escapees is highlighted by discordant string motifs and piano flourishes and sad violins up the emotional ante as their situation becomes increasingly fraught. It functions as a body of work, but probably won't make for pleasurable listening outside the context of the film.

"Rescue Dawn" will appeal to those who enjoy war movies or are interested in survival skills. It will not hit the spot with those looking for a gung-ho action movie or expecting a political stance on the Vietnam War or any other. Survival is the star here, although there are some great turns from Bale and Zahn. It's not a film you'll enjoy watching, but you may appreciate it. I found it a bit of a slog to be honest, but that's not to say this is a bad film. I might watch it again if it was on TV and I was feeling brave, but I wouldn't rush out to rent it. 

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