Director: Werner Herzog
Rating: ****
Dieter Dangler was not a war-hero nevertheless he was considered one the bravest soldiers in the US Navy. Werner Herzog’ ‘Rescue Dawn’ is a story of endurance, friendship and the ability to maintain sanity in a war-brewing environment. Powered by the epic struggle of one man in Vietnam, Laos; ‘Rescue Dawn’ narrates the story of a US Navy Naval aviator who survived five months and 19 days and returned home.
On February 1, 1996, Dieter Dangler along with three other aircrafts launched f
rom Ranger on a mission to interdict a confirmed sighting of a truck convoy in Northern Vietnam. In pursuit, Dangler gets shot and crash-lands his Skyraider in Laos. With a reputation of escaping three times in mock-POW camp run by Marine guards, Dieter presumes surviving in Nam would be a piece of cake until he gets captured by some local villagers. After being severely tortured for several days, Dieter finally arrives at Pathet Lao prison camp where he’s held captive along with Duane W. Martin, Eugene DeBruin, Prasit Thanee, Y.C To, Pisidhi Indradat, and Prasit Promsuwan. Will Dieter along with other inmates successfully break out of the prison or not forms rest of the story?
This is a slow-paced war drama therefore if you don’t like such films, avoid this one at all cost, but if there’s some part of you cheering for such films then do give this film a watch. What works brilliantly for this is its purpose – to emphasize on the fact that no matter how bad things around you get, there’s no way you could give up because if you do then you’re equivalent to dead. More than his country, Dieter believed in self, his endurance and self confidence kept him alive in Nam.
Werner also puts you on the other side of the fence, to see for yourself through th
e eyes of the Vietnamese. Not all, who hold guns become soldiers or have the right to shoot someone in cold blood. The gunmen at the Pathet Leo are neither solders nor war fighters. They’re common men who are forced to pick up guns to earn a livelihood. I mean think about it, in a land where the soil’s unfit to cultivate crops and all other forms of employment is wiped clean off by the bombings; what other options are these men left with other than do and feed their families what they’ve been told.
This is one the toughest roles Bale picked and executed in style. Bale’s character is pioneered by certain traits which are expertly carried throughout the film. One such trait is his sanity – which is intact at all times. Dieter was a man who could literally eat anything in the jungle – from worms to snakes; Bale was expected to be as fearless as Dieter, and boy he turns out to be a carbon copy of Dieter in all forms. Steve Zahn played his part quite well and his role was in deficit of hope throughout which he sees through the eyes of Dieter. Another brilliant aspect of the film is the unlikely friendship between Dieter and Duane which is strengthened by the pillar called freedom. In order to free themselves, Dieter and Duane embark on a journey called friendship.
Deatrick after rescuing Dieter said the following -
Deatrick has long marveled at the fact that had he stuck to his original flig
ht schedule on the morning of July 20, 1966, Dieter would not have been at the river to be sighted at that earlier hour. “If God put me on the earth for one reason,” Deatrick says, “it was to find Dieter over there in the jungle.” As it was, Deatrick describes it as “a million-in-one chance.
In essence; ‘Rescue Dawn’ is a film with a ‘straight out of heart’ message – never lose hope and fight for your survival.
