Given how impressed I've been with everything I've seen with Christian Bale in it lately, it was a no-brainer that I would eventually get around to seeing this one. Released on only a small number of screens this past summer, Rescue Dawn tells the story of Dieter Dangler (Bale), a German-American fighter pilot who was shot down and imprisoned in Laos in 1966.
Aside from being a remarkable story, what made this film so impressive is that it plays more like an autobiography more than a film. What I mean by that is that doesn't try to add a bunch of symbolism or meaning behind any of the action. It just provides numerous glimpses into Dangler's attempts to survive and escape. For instance, at one point Dangler starts hallucinating and sees one of his fellow prisoners, who is dead. Instead of making a big deal about it, it's just briefly touched upon to give you a sense of Dangler's mental state at that point.
Of course, Bale gives a stellar performance, but credit also needs to be given to Steve Zahn who is also very good as another one of the prisoners. The film also has a couple of Lost connections as Dr. Marvin Candle has a brief appearance and newcomer Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) has a larger role as yet another prisoner. Aside from the acting, I should also mention that this film is gorgeous and probably would look especially good in HD.
In short, this was just an excellent film and you should note it made it on my top 10 for 2007. It's a shame this too got overlooked this awards season, but as Little Miss Sunshine proved, what I think of films doesn't always jive with what the Academy thinks. Netflix rating: *****
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