RESCUE DAWN

Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn dramatizes the true story of Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a United States pilot shot down over Laos in 1966. It's pretty much a genre film in the POW mode: Captured, the man suffers horrible deprivation and looks for a way to escape. What mainly sets this movie apart is its deft direction, its strong cast and cinematography, and Bale's portrayal of Dengler as a type of irrepressible oddball who sees opportunity where others see captivity.

The movie has gotten a pretty positive reception, but it has gotten some negative criticism too. Jerry DeBruin, brother of one of Dengler's fellow captives, argues that the film distorts reality in glorifying Dengler. The movie's treatment of Dengler can certainly come across as Hollywoody and even propagandistic to the detriment of others including the non-Americans, who are almost entirely portrayed as savages. On the other hand, I'd like to think that moviegoers who see how the captives are brutalized would leave with a better understanding of why the mistreatment of prisoners is so roundly condemned.

After seeing Rescue Dawn, I thought about how the Vietnam War has been portrayed in feature films and wondered if I would ever see a Battle of Algiers for that conflict, one that would add more breadth to the movie mosaic that now includes Rescue Dawn in addition to Platoon and Apocalypse Now. Or how about a saga about the fates of different families within Vietnam? (Hm. Suddenly I am reminded of Daughter from Danang.)



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