The Blog of Mr. Buckner

Rescue Dawn is a film about real life US fighter pilot Dieter Dengler’s survival after his plane crashed down in Laos during the beginnings of the Vietnam War. It made only around $5 million in the box office but over $27 million in DVD sales proving it to be a successful independent movie. The movie stars Christian Bale as Dieter Dengler, Steve Zahn as Duane Martin and Jeremy Davies as Eugene from Eugene.

As you watch this film you come to understand that the Vietnam War was almost off the bat a losing battle for us. You can see the cockiness of the soldiers on the boat as they watch an instructional video of how to survive in the jungle and that is one quality you must not have in war. Another example is the main character, Dieter Dengler himself. When he first gets caught he is all smiles and is not worried about his safety but as time wears on and the torture starts you can see his sense of humor diminish.

But it soon comes back though when he is locked up with other fellow POWs. This is really where the film stands out on its legs. Steve Zahn as Duane Martin is probably his best role to date and Jeremy Davies proves that he adds something to every movie with his part as Eugene. When Dengler arrives it with his plan of escaping it brings out the best in each man and the craziest out of Eugene. These three actors bounce well off of each other and it shows that commrodory and faith can go a long way.

Not only is there strong acting in this movie there is also superb direction by Werner Herzog who weaves a brilliant story of survival and the losses along the way with it. Much credit goes to him for this movie as it runs two hours long and it doesn’t even bother you as you get so caught up in the moment and hope that they all make it out.

Overall this is a must see movie and really deserved more acclaim than it actually got. It’s a shame that the Academy Awards didn’t even nominate this for at least one thing. Come on!

Final Verdict: – 4.3/5