O Sobrevivente

Writer-director Werner Herzog, whose films have always been marked by a rapport with the natural world, takes this trademark to Laos in "Rescue Dawn," a compelling, intimate account of the Vietnam conflict. Based on the real-life tale of Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a German-born/American-bred fighter pilot with a cocky, cowboy-like demeanor, the film goes for realism and largely succeeds. The setting is a microscopic POW camp where Dengler and a half-dozen prisoners, including Dwight (Steve Zahn, playing well against type) and Gene (Jeremy Davies--"Saving Private Ryan") plot an escape. Interestingly, the extensive Vietnamese spoken in the film is not subtitled, which actually adds to the strong sense of isolation incurred from the POWs' position. Herzog also paints "Rescue Dawn" as a timely meditation on the Iraq War--while Dieter's John Wayne persona (that takes a drastically different turn in the second half) could be read as an endorsement of American militarism, we see the emaciated, defeated prisoners almost as symbols of a war that's been "lost" from the beginning; even later in the film, the Vietnamese captors begin to show the same signs of fatigue and desperation. The whole concept of "escape" is essential to making an entertaining, suspenseful film (which "Rescue Dawn" certainly is), but also reflective of a current foreign-policy mess that should have been curtailed before it even began. But Herzog is subtle in his politics, and lets the jungle do most of the talking--once Dieter and his fellow prisoners escape, the road to a "happy ending" is anything but "cut and dry." The director often puts us in the midst of torture and terror, but also milks moments of surprising humor to great effect, and gets excellent performances from the entire cast (while Bale is top-billed, Zahn and Davies are the real standouts). My only real complaint about the film is a conclusion that comes off as contrived and unnecessary, stretching the credibility of the harrowing realism that came before. Otherwise, "Rescue Dawn" is one of 2007's standout features.

A no-nonsense(no bragging about 'Uncle Sam') and sombre depiction of a spasming survival. While the film has a few disturbing historical inaccuracies, the whole experience is gripping. I guess after 'Platoon', I was impressed by this movie's jungle 'fear-factor', the cinematography deserves applause. The background score gives justice to the setting of the movie. Christian Bale has put his heart into the role and well supported by the rest of the cast. There are these rare 'straight stories' that make a mark in a gentleman's way, this movie is one ...

In 1965, while bombing Laos in a classified mission, the plane of the German-American pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) is hit and crashes in the jungle. Dieter is arrested by the peasants, tortured and sent to a prisoner camp, where he meets five other mentally ill prisoners. He becomes close to Duane (Steve Zahn) and organizes an escape plan; however, the unstable Gene (Jeremy Davies) opposes to Dieter's plan. When they discover that there is no more food due to the constant American bombings in the area and their guards intend to kill them, Dieter sets his plan in motion. However, an unexpected betrayal split the group and Dieter and Duane find that the jungle is their actual prison.

"Rescue Dawn" is a good drama of war, with great performances of Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. Jeremy Davies has his customary role of an insecure and unstable guy. The story shows the spirit of a soldier and his struggle for surviving in a totally hostile environment. The poor and suffered peasants that had their lands, homes and families bombed are naive and do not have military training; therefore the storyline of Dieter's amazing escape is credible. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Sobrevivente" ("The Survivor")

After getting shot down in Laos, Dieter Dengler is captured, tortured, and eventually transported to a remote POW camp where he is united with fellow American pilots with the same problem. With the arrival of Dengler, a new spirit emerges among the group, and an escape plan soon hatches. RESCUE DAWN is a story of struggle, friendship, keeping one's sanity, and survival amidst a war-brewing Vietnam and its inhospitable jungles. Werner Herzog does a great job with his direction, giving his actors full reign as well as inspiring them to their creative peaks. Each actor in the film does their best with each role; none becoming too hammy or extreme in their techniques; with Bale, Zahn, and Davies all shedding flesh as well as comfort in preparation for their tasking roles. Great cinematography throughout, as the Laotian backdrop is realized vividly; looming stone cliffs and walls of vine add further quality to the prison feel, and empty fields and lush rain forest paints the wild of Vietnam effectively. The music is excellent, and serves the film nobly, never trying too hard for tears or pity. RESCUE DAWN is a feel-good movie without really trying to become one, which is where so many survival and hardship movies fail; but any imperfections this film does have, is certainly overshadowed by its obvious technical genius, excellent acting, and courageous story.

If you're a big fan of the mad German genius Werner Herzog, you might be disappointed in this, his first foray into Hollywood film-making. This is polished and not at all experimental. However, to me it feels like Herzog, when he stepped up to the plate, said to himself, "Well, I can make an American film. And I can make a better one than 95% of American films." And there's nothing wrong with that. The film is a dramatization of the events retold in Herzog's earlier documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. Christian Bale plays Dieter Dengler, an American citizen and German emigré who had one of the most impressive survival instincts ever seen in a human being. Shot down in Laos in the opening throes of the Vietnam War, he was taken to a brutal POW camp where he met two other American POWs (Jeremy Davies and Steven Zahn in the film) and three Asian men who had worked with the enemy. The two Americans had been there for an average of a couple of years, and had all but given up hope (the Davies character is sure there will be peace soon enough). Through his amazing ingenuity, Dieter planned a heroic escape. Most of the movie takes place in the POW camp. Most of what I remember from Little Dieter Needs to Fly, which I saw around two years ago, is the escape. It's a disturbing, horrifying tale of survival. I would have liked this part to be the longer, but it works very well. It's certainly harrowing. I was disappointed that one of the images I really remember from the original film did not appear: the bear that stalked Dieter during his final days wandering in the jungle. He considered it almost a friend, but in the back of his mind realized it was following him because it wanted to eat him. Herzog keeps things extremely subtle, telling them very much the way they happened. The story develops more like real life, not like a movie. It keeps melodrama to a minimum. My only problem is how it ends. The ending is way too boisterous and uplifting. Dieter Dengler was most definitely an upbeat kind of guy, but his suffering and the awful things that he saw – heck, with the awful things that we just experienced with him, so vivid is this movie – don't lead well to the celebration that ends the movie. I very much liked this film, and think it is one of the best I've seen so far this year.