Rescue Dawn (2006)

It seems that every war has its share of incredible stories. The intensity of battle brings out the best in some men despite the utmost trying circumstances. The Vietnam War is almost exclusively viewed in a negative light. Tales of atrocities were commonly reported and hold fast in the American psyche. Rescue Dawn is just the opposite. Here is a Vietnam-era tale of boldness and bravery that not only astonishes but uplifts.

German-American Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a pilot in the US Navy, is shot down over Laos in February 1966 during a covert mission. Despite his best efforts, he is captured by a communist militia. Since US operations in Laos were illegal, the Laotian government isn’t too keen on being nice. They offer his freedom if he signs a document for release condemning his country. Refusing, he is tortured and taken to a rural POW camp in the middle of the Laotian jungles.

Dengler’s fellow inmates include two Americans- Gene DeBruin (Jeremy Davies) and Duane Martin (Steve Zahn)- and three men of Thai descent. There is little hope of rescue, as America and Laos did not have diplomatic relations, so the prisoners advise Dengle to get used to being chained down much of the time, fed meager portions and to avoid upsetting the abusive guards. Refusing to concede, Dengler plots a bold escape that could lead them all to freedom.

The first thing that struck me about this film is the way it looks- old. I don’t know if it’s due to the equipment director Werner Herzog chose to use or just an immaculate attention to detail, but this films looks about 20 years older than it really is. Oddly enough, this older look makes the whole film more visually believable. I see no digital grading to make the jungle greens pop or any of the crispness that modern film-making technology lends to a film. It all looks very old-school and I love it.

Another key factor is that everything looks authentic in this film. The sets are almost all on-location and everything down to the costumes and hair styles of the characters (pre-capture that is) looks era-appropriate. Herzog avoids falling into the trap of allowing any modern elements from creeping into his historical picture. This prevents any action or war movie clichés from putting a crimp on the intense tale being told.

Filming on location in Thailand really gives the film the mood it needs. The thick jungles surrounding the POW camp are haunting with an abundance of heavy mist and animal noises. Inside the jungle you can’t help but feel claustrophobic as the dense vegetation threatens to swallow up our subjects. As vile as the Laotian prison guards are, Rescue Dawn shows just how menacing an antagonist nature can be.

Christian Bale, Jeremy Davies and Steve Zahn are well up to the task of taking on the jungle though. The transformations they put their bodies through to look like starving, unkempt POWs are shocking. Christian Bale seems to be the modern master of dire and determined protagonists. Jeremy Davies exudes a chilling aura as the lone doubter of the escape plan. He speaks with the freakish conviction of failure that can only come from someone who has been cooped up for too long. It’s Steve Zahn though who surprises the most here. Normally seen in humorous or outlandish roles, Zahn is perfect in his muted performance as the most shell-shocked of the bunch.

The only minor fault I could find, which didn’t even come close to taking me out of the mood, was an instance or two of sub-standard effects in a few early scenes. I can understand using some CGI instead of tracking down or rebuilding working models of Vietnam era airplanes. Some things are just easier with today’s technology even if they don’t look perfect. The rest of the film is paced, shot, acted and directed fantastically.

War-time and action escape flicks aren’t exactly anything new. It’s the perfect sub-genre for thrilling audiences but it has also grown stale thanks to an abundance of inferior films that just don’t work. That leads to some critics and moviegoers to cry foul when they feel a film like Rescue Dawn is predictable. Werner Herzog can’t help it that Hollywood has thrown nearly every conceivable permutation of escape flick at us already. If we want to be honest with ourselves and the film, all we can do is judge the film by its presentation. The ‘based on a true story’ tagline almost always adds extra weight and meaning to these kinds of productions, especially, in this case, when we watch a story unfold that most people have never even heard of.

Rescue Dawn is a flat-out tour de force of everything done right in a wartime escape movie. You will find yourself cringing at the brutality of the POW camp, on pins and needles in anticipation of the escape and on the edge of your seat as it unfolds. In many ways, this film is like a Vietnam version of The Great Escape but I won’t even think of comparing the two further. Both are true stories that probably fudge a few historical facts here and there but they both make for compelling drama. Track this gem down and treat yourself to one of the best war films since Saving Private Ryan.

RATING: 4 out of 5