Rescue Dawn

I'm a big movie fan. Actually, it seems pretty dumb to write those words. I mean, really, who doesn't like a good movie?

If I could, the Wife and I would go to a movie every weekend. Alas, with two young kids, that ain't happening. So, I generally wait for them to come out on video. And when I do go to movies, I generally tend to orient towards the lowbrow; think Farrelly brothers. I have so much stress in my life between work, dealing with two whiny kids, cancer, et al. that when I go to the movies I generally want to decompress.

But I digress.

A few months ago I read a positive review in the New York Times about Rescue Dawn, a new movie by acclaimed director director Werner Herzog, starring Christian Bale. It seemed more intense than the above described Farrelly movies, but it caught my eye while at Blockbuster and I figured what the heck. Anyway, I watched it last night and in one word: wow. It is definitely the best movie I have seen this year, though I hasten to add that I haven't seen any of the Oscar-contending movies.

In a nutshell, it is the true story of Dieter Dengler, an American Navy pilot who's plane was shot down during a black opps mission over Laos. After a brief evasion, he was captured and sent to a Laotian prison in the jungle, where several other Americans were also being held captive. The basis of the movie is about their daring escape and the ensuing 23 days he spent in the jungle. I won't say any more but it is absolutely riveting, and brilliantly directed by Herzog. It's a cross between Rambo (for lack of a better example) and The Great Escape. If you like war movies (Jeff S!), or tales of survival, this is the one for you. I've long felt that Christian Bale is one of our greatest and most under-appreciated actors, and his performance here is absolutely Brando-esque. I really hope he is nominated for an Academy Awards for this performance; I think he has an outside shot. I'm certain though that if he doesn't win one for this movie, he will for another.

I was so blown away by this Dieter Dengler that I picked up my computer while watching the movie (as stated previously, I am the mother of all multitaskers) and started doing research. I was quite surprised to learn that after returning home, he lived in my new hometown here in Marin County. I thought that was pretty cool.

Anyway, if you're renting movies for the holiday season, I recommend this one very, very highly.

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