Movie Review: Rescue Dawn

Starring:
Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Zach Grenier, Toby Huss, Abhijati Jusakul, Teerawat Mulvilai

Director:
Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man)

MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for some sequences of intense war violence and torture.

Release Date:
July 2007

Synopsis:
Based on the true story of Dieter Dengler, a German-American fighter pilot and highly decorated Vietnam veteran whose reconnaissance plane was shot down in 1966. Captured by enemy forces and held in a Laotian torture camp near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Dengler defied death by organizing one of the most daring escapes in the Vietnam conflict.

My Two Cents:
During the early stages of the Vietnam War, U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) was sent on a top-secret mission over Laos, but was shot down and taken hostage, tortured and then transported to a POW camp with other American pilots. Some of these prisoners had been held there for over two years. Dieter has no plans to stay that long and intends to escape, but Duane Martin (Steve Zahn) tells him that without water or food he won’t survive long in the jungle, and the rainy season won’t start for about six months. Dieter has no choice but to wait, but in the mean time he makes preparations and a detailed plan to escape.

Dieter convinces the other prisoners to work together as a team in order to escape, but they’re weak, demoralized and going crazy out of starvation and despair. When the day of escape finally comes, only Duane follows Dieter’s plan, but all the prisoners manage to escape. Everyone takes different routes through the jungle, but Duane and Dieter stick together. The two spend days searching for the Mekong River, trying to reach Thailand, but they are too tired and can only hope to be seen and rescued by one of the U.S. helicopters or planes that occasionally fly by.

Christian Bale once again gives an outstanding performance, but I was even more impressed by Steve Zahn. You really care for the characters and want them all to escape and eat a goddamn sandwich or something. Bale and Zahn lost a lot of weight for their roles, but Jeremy Davies, who played Gene DeBruin, literally looks like a skeleton. They have somehow survived years eating a few grains of rice and maggot-filled meat.



The men and women who keep them prisoners treat them like animals, actually, worse. Even though you hate their captors, you can’t really expect them to treat them any better. These U.S. soldiers came into their country to kill them. Imagine if strangers got into your house to kill you and your family and you managed to capture a bunch of them. What would you do to them?

War is hell, and Rescue Dawn makes me want to stay as far away as possible from it. You really feel these soldier’s pain, fear, hunger, and despair. The excellent acting only makes this true story more real, as if you were actually there. If you like war dramas and don’t mind shedding a tear or two, I strongly recommend watching Rescue Dawn.

Score: