Rescue Dawn

Acclaimed director Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) brings to the screen the harrowing tale of Dieter Dengler, an American pilot shot down in Laos just before the war became official in neighboring Vietnam. Dengler is played by one of the best young actors around, Christian Bale. Dengler, after crash landing, tries to run and hide from the Laotian militias, who are eager to grab American prisoners. Eventually, Dengler is captured and taken to a makeshift prison camp. He soon finds out the other five prisoners have been there not for days, but for years. Will the rescue attempts find them? Will they survive?
One of the prisoners, Gene, is bent on the hope that the guards will release them any day now. When Dengler suggests an escape, Gene threatens to yell and alert the guards. Gene wants no one to ruin his chances at being let out. He has been there two years. This is an example of a false hope that destroys instead of gives life. Gene's hope is in the wrong thing. Although dangerous and far from certain, he should place his hope in an escape, which has a far greater chance of success. Hope is a great thing, but it is not enough to simply have hope. We must place our hope in the right things. Hope keeps us going, but false hope keeps us going in the wrong direction.
Torture plays a prominent role in the film; a rather timely subject. What should the Christian response to torture be? Obviously we are against it, but what if that torture brings about essential information to save lives? What if we captured an Al-Qaeda operative on September 10th and could only obtain information about the attacks through torture? Should we always be against it? In the film torture is used to incite fear and repress strength, a horrible human practice. But we must remember that torture is not only used by our enemies, but often by our own government as well.
The community of prisoners is an interesting study in human behavior. Why is it that we tend to forge the strongest relationships when under extreme stress and danger? Why don't we usually care deeply for each other under normal circumstances? In the film, the prisoners grow extremely close. The trauma catalyzes great comradery, but it also heightens the tension and brings about ridiculous infighting. They are all on the same team, why would they fight against each other? Maybe duress merely accentuates how we already feel about each other, taking it to the extreme. That's one of the main reasons I love war films, they capture humanity strained to the breaking point and revealing the truth of who we are.
At one point of extreme desperation, Dengler mutters an interesting plea: "God, why won't you help us when we need you most?" Sometimes we feel a deep sense of need for God because of our utter hopelessness. We turn to Him when we have nowhere else to run. But the fact is that we probably haven't realized the need for God at "good times" in our lives because He has been helping us in those times. If we never felt desperation, would we ever feel a deep dependence on God?
Rescue Dawn is an unassuming war film; though influenced by classic POW films like Bridge on the River Kwai and The Great Escape, it is vastly different. It is unique in that it does not try to overdramatize the events. Herzog usually makes documentaries (in fact he made a documentary of this story 10 years ago), and this film sometimes takes on the watchful eye of a spectator. The scene of the crash near the beginning is stunning and surreal. We the audience watch Dengler run across a field with the militia following him, but it is one continuous shot with no music or effects. This shot, as well as many others, takes us to East Asia and put us in the place of a prisoner of war. I know it's cliche, but Herzog made me feel like I was there. A truly remarkable story of human frailty, strength, desperation, and hope. Christian Bale is utterly breathtaking as Dengler. He should (and probably will) be nominated for an Oscar come Awards season. It was a pleasure to watch such a master at work. A beautiful and disturbing work, Rescue Dawn is the first truly great film of 2007.