Rescue Dawn
2006
****
Director: Werner Herzog
Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Marshall Bell, François Chau, Zach Grenier, Toby Huss
Werner Herzog returns to the topic of his 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly to retell the incredible story of Dieter Dengler, a German-born US Navy pilot who was shot down and taken captive in Laos in 1966. Christian Bale plays him as an endlessly energetic, optimistic and resourceful man who flashes his jovial and somewhat creepy smile even when staring down the barrel of a gun. Herzog, the director of Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, is no stranger to the jungle, and this survival drama gives him another chance to explore the theme of man against nature. The film is gripping and well-acted, and possibly the most conventional work of his career.
