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One of the best Vietnam Documentaries I have seen. Paralleles 'We Were Soldiers Once','Platoon', 'Born On The Fourth Of July', 'Deerhunter' and others in this vein.

I just saw the movie today as a result of checking out the newspaper ads. I had not seen it advertised anywhere, nor had I seen a review on it. It was a welcome surprise.

Director Werner Herzog directed, and Christian Bale and others acted in a biographical-documentary which should be up for some type of movie award this year. Bale, who plays real-life character Dieter Dengler, joins the Navy and becomes a pilot. He's a wise-cracking air jock who is part of a squadron of single engine, propeller driven attack planes sent on a secret mission to bomb targets near the Laotian border in 1966. Dengler was the last man in on the bombing raid and was subsequently shot down, survived and was captured by the Pathet-Lao. He was subsequently beaten and tortured when he refused to sign a document of admission of guilt, then dragged across Laos to a POW camp in Vietnam where he meets up with other American POW's. He soon becomes the leader of the group albeit some resistance from one of the POW's named 'Gene'(Jeremy Davies) who reminds one of Charles Manson. Dieter(Bale) seeing the condition of his fellow POW's soon decides to concoct an escape plan. A plan was drawn up and was originally supposed to take place on July 4th but is moved up when the Pathet Lao are overheard talking about a plan to kill the POW's. When the escape happens, a shoot-out ensues leaving 5 of the guards dead. Only Dieter and fellow POW Duane Martin (Steve Zahn) actually make it out of the prison, apparently leaving other POW's to fend for themselves (the movie is vague in this respect). Dieter(Bale)and Duane(Zahn)then trek across country to the Mekong River, hacking their way through the dense jungle and forging rivers until they come upon a village. They are once-again captured and Duane(Zahn)is beheaded as Dieter(Bale)escapes back into the jungle. Near death, and ready to stop running to either perish or be found, Dieter(Bale)stops by a large rock on a riverbank. A short time later a fixed wing aircraft spots him and helicopters arrive shortly thereafter to rescue him, with the Pathet Lao in close pursuit. He is hoisted into the aircraft and flown to a hospital where he was treated and subsequently taken back to his ship where there were cries of disbelief that he was still alive.

Dieter flew as a test pilot after Vietnam and survived 3 more crashes. He was married three times and died in 2001 from Lou Gehrig's Disease.