Rescue Dawn is Werner Herzog playing in a sandbox that is not his own. And you allow it, if only because the circumstance will produce at least a few majestic results. Those would be: hand-held camerawork that follows Dieter within near-impenetrable terrain (there are instances that recall Aguirre directly, and these are thrilling); Dieter, having survived a violent crash landing, escaping the Vietnamese soldiers who appear to emerge directly from the overgrowth of brush and leaves; And most simply put, the fact that this is a new film made by Werner Herzog, which lends more leeway to its appreciation. Herzog’s boldness is here demonstrated in the very liberal references to Little Dieter Needs to Fly, with certain passages of footage lifted verbatim. It seems even he realizes the status of the earlier film in comparison, and opts to affectionately reproduce it. And in the former film, Dieter speaks of his celebratory return to his Navy shipmates—this scene is staged with such pomp and circumstance that it would not be unsound had Christian Bale, still in hospital scrubs, emerged straight from the screen and hoisted you to cheers.
by Rumsey Taylor | Source: 35mm print
30 Jul 2007 10:25 AM | Submit Comment
