Unlike most Werner Herzog films, (Aguirre, The Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, Grizzly Man) Rescue Dawn is not the tale of a madman — unless one considers hope in a prison delusional. Herzog’s career has been built on obsessed men pitting their wills against nature, so it comes as some surprise that the character with whom he obviously identifies the most is not the hubristic Aguirre, the obstinate Fitzcarraldo, or the fixated Timothy Treadwell, but the passionate optimist, Dieter Dengler.

Herzog uses his 1997 documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, as a springboard for Rescue Dawn, an action drama about imprisonment, perseverance and survival at all costs.

Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a German-born U.S. Navy pilot was shot down over Laos in 1966, 40 minutes into his first ever-combat mission. Crash landing, he eluded capture for several days before being discovered by militiamen, tortured, and thrown into a jungle prison manned by sadistic Pathet Lao soldiers. Dengler’s comrades-in-chains included U.S. helicopter pilot Duane Martin (Steve Zahn), who has lost all hope of rescue, “Gene from Eugene” (Jeremy Davies, best known for his role as Corporal Upham in Saving Private Ryan) who has begun to go mad and is decidedly risk-adverse to escape, and several Thai prisoners of war.

That Dengler remains consistently optimistic flummoxes all those around him. But his buoyancy comes from his conviction that escape is a foregone conclusion. Rallying the other prisoners, he leads a daring escape. Running barefoot through the impenetrable tropical foliage, being swept away by flash floods, fending off leeches, eating snakes, and avoiding Laotian patrols reveal a jungle every bit as hostile to human life as the prison from which they came. It was only through a combination of resourcefulness, strength of spirit, and sheer, dumb luck that Dengler was spotted by an American patrol and whisked off to safety.

These days, it is a foregone conclusion that Christian Bale will turn in a riveting performance, such is the caliber of this dean of his generation. His Dengler is marvelously light on his emotional feet—modest and good-natured, even in the face of extraordinary adversity. The same praise could be said of the less visible, but no less extraordinary Jeremy Davies, who transforms himself into a skeletal, mind-shattered, Charles Manson look-alike. But the real revelation here is Steve Zahn. Zahn, who has always been a very funny and extremely likable actor, shows that his talents run well beyond simple comedy. Duane’s platonic bond with Dengler, as strong as marriage and more resilient than death, is haunting.

While Rescue Dawn lacks some of the narcotic hallucination of Herzog’s earlier work, and is certainly his most commercial film to date, it is still characteristic Herzog. Complex and multi-faceted, Herzog has made a film with the skin of an action movie and the heart of a rhythmic, reflective poem. Klaus Badelt, a composer known for his bombast, has created a score of classical beauty and heartbreaking fragility to match.

The film’s triumphant ending, in which Dengler is welcomed back to his carrier like a conquering hero, may seem conventional (and is hardly Herzogian), but is exactly how the events transpired. Rescue Dawn is a patriotic hymn, not to America, but to its embodyment in an immigrant who personifies the fortitude, affability and tenacity that Herzog finds so intoxicating about this country.

Rescue Dawn is thrilling — a thinking and feeling person’s action picture crafted in the old-fashioned, character driven style.

© Copyright 2007 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.