Christian Bale and Steve Zahn star in Rescue Dawn, an action drama by Werner Herzog, based on the director's acclaimed 1997 documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly. The film recounts the true story of German-born Dieter Dengler, who dreams of being a pilot and eventually makes his way to the United States, where he joins the military during the Vietnam War era. Shot down and captured in Vietnam, Dieter, along with a handfull of other captives, decide to hatch an escape plan before it's too late.
Directed by
Werner Herzog
Written by
Werner Herzog
Starring
Zach Grenier (Squad Leader); Marshall Bell (Admiral); Christian Bale (Dieter); Toby Huss (Spook); Pat Healy (Norman); GQ (Farkas (as Gregory J. Qaiyum)); James Oliver (Jet Pilot); Brad Carr (U.S. Navy Pilot); Saichia Wongwiroj (Pathet Lao Guard); François Chau (Province Governor); Teerawat Mulvilai (Little Hitler (as Teerawat 'Ka-Ge' Mulvilai)); Mr. Yuttana Muenwaja (Crazy Horse (as Yuttana Muenwaja)); Kriangsak Ming-olo (Jumbo); Somkuan 'Kuan' Siroon (Nook the Rock); Chorn Solyda (Walkie Talkie). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
Important: the following essays and comments are authored by Soul Food Cinema readers. Whilst the Editor prays for the spiritual integrity of all content of this site, it should be noted that these represent personal opinions and carry no official endorsement. If you consider any content to be a misrepresentation of Catholic teaching, please contact SFC. May God bless you and enlighten you in your reading.
-
Articles, Essays and Reviews
-
Please contact SFC if you are interested in submitting an essay on this film.
-
Readers' Comments and Opinions
-
Click the link to comment on this film. You may like to copy the film title and year (as given above) to your clipboard now for pasting into the following form.
-
A Gripping Story of Survival
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
Christian Bale turns in a commendable and likeable performance in his role as Dieter Dengler - a German-born American pilot that gets shot down in Vietnam and taken prisoner. The story generally keeps a good pace throughout (though does waver about a third of the way through only to pick up again soon after), and as ever the lush-green backdrop of Vietnam makes for a rich cinematic setting. I thought Dieter's touches of friendship and leadership shown to his fellow prisoners carried the story along and created good empathy for his character where so often in these types of films it is lacking. The inspirational ending I have to confess brought a tear to my eye, and is as good a tale as many others to re-enforce messages never to give up hope, never to compromise your beliefs and never to stop trying. I also loved the nail thing - where there's a need God will surely provide, even if He isn't always acknowledged as the provider!
