In U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler, filmmaker Werner Herzog sees most of the qualities he loves about America. It’s one reason he’s returning to the story of Dengler with “Rescue Dawn,” a feature film that follows his acclaimed 1997 documentary, “Little Dieter Needs to Fly.”

Shot down over Laos in 1966, Dengler was tortured and imprisoned for six months. He never lost hope or, oddly, his enthusiasm and concocted an elaborate escape plan that eventually led to his freedom after a harrowing run through the jungle.

“He embodies everything I like about America — loyalty, a frontier spirit, optimism and a very pragmatic approach to the adversities of life,” the German-born Herzog says. “He was exactly what a good soldier should be.”

Herzog calls “Rescue Dawn” a piece of “unfinished business,” a movie he knew he wanted to make after completing the documentary. Christian Bale plays Dengler, and Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies portray fellow prisoners who don’t know whether to regard Dengler as a messiah or a menace.
“Rescue Dawn” was shot in remote Thailand, proving to be a mental and physical endurance test for all involved.

How could it be anything else? Herzog asks.

“In the documentary, Dieter was reluctant to talk much about his fellow prisoners,” Herzog says. “He casually brushes their conflicts aside, when the fact is, sometimes they hated each other so bad they would have strangled each other if they hadn’t been handcuffed. We didn’t get that in the documentary, but we have those emotions in the film.”

After being hung up in limbo because of various disputes between financiers, “Rescue Dawn” now has an official release date — July 4 — which Herzog calls “perfect” for the subject matter.

“I do not want to sound like an American patriot,” he says. “I love your country. America is a great, mysterious force. Even though the entire world is quite much turned against it, this film shows the best of the country. I wish Abu Ghraib had a soldier like Dieter Dengler. Then it might have been different.” – Sb Sun