Rescue Dawn
It was interesting to hear Herzog say in an interview that he had always thought of the story of Dieter Dengler as a fictional or narrative film as opposed to a documentary. He said he always saw the movie Little Dieter Needs to Fly as a remake of a narrative film that had not yet been physically created.
It's an answer to the question of why Rescue Dawn was eventually actually made. I'm not sure if the question needed an answer. I had already seen Little Dieter Needs to Fly when I heard the news that Herzog would be filming a narrative film version of it with Christian Bale, and didn't have any doubts that it would make a fantastic film.
The movie is in fact extremely simple. Psychological often, but not overbearing.
To concur with what must have been stated many times before, Steve Zahn is absolutely captivating. To peer into his eyes is a pure look at emotions rarely probed so deeply on screen. Fear, desperation, loss of hope.
The movie works as one of the most fresh Vietnam war films I believe because of it's lack of epic quality, as opposed to most big Vietnam pictures with large casts, lots of action, drama, back story, wild editing, and ambitious staging. Even at the end of Rescue Dawn when Dieter is welcomed by the gigantic crowd, there is no false sentiment here. For one because if you have seen the original documentary you know this is Dieter's true remembrance of the events. And two because Dieter's reaction is not falsely sentimental or full of platitudes.
It would also be important to research Herzog's philosophy that artistic truth comes from a melding of fact and fiction. This is why to me his documentaries often feel a bit manipulated and falsified and his narratives films feel like there is more documentary style truth to them. To Herzog in a way there is no difference to his approach of a documentary or narrative film. They are both a blend of both sides, which may account for his making this movie twice under the two different labels. I'm not sure.
Rating: 9/10