Since the release of “Grizzly Man” (2005), Werner Herzog’s career has been going through a cinephillic renaissance. While he has been releasing both efforts of fiction and non-fiction for the past twenty five years, the last film that garnered Herzog a great deal of acclaim was his 1982 effort “Fitzcarraldo,” which won best director at Cannes and outstanding feature film at the German Film Awards. Within the twenty-three year span between “Fitzcarraldo” and “Grizzly Man,” Herzog released over twenty-five pieces (spread between television and film), one of which, the documentary “Little Dieter Needs to Fly” (1997), firmly rekindled an interest in the German filmmaker. The film, based on the life of Dieter Dengler, a German immigrant who became a U.S. Air Force pilot, detailed his haunting capture after being shot down on a confidential bombing mission over Laos.
Now, more than ten years later, after winning acclaim for “Grizzly Man,” saving Joaquin Phoenix from a car accident, and getting shot with a by an air rifle, Herzog has decided to revisit “Little Dieter,” shifting from a documentary form to a fictional reenactment starring Christian Bale in the role of Dieter. Prior to the film’s release on July 4th, there was a growing belief that the film would put Herzog back on the map. Now that the film has been screened, critics seem to be conflicted about the film, expressing the sentiment that it stands as a fairly conventional genre piece with some subtle shadings of Herzog’s earlier art house films.
Is this assessment correct? Undoubtedly, but Herzog’s use of generic conventions and what has been described as “romanticized” depiction of his protagonist are relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of the current cinematic environment. Yes, “Rescue Dawn” is not “Fitzcarraldo” or “Aguirre, The Wrath of God” (1972) but moviegoers are not the same as they were in the 1970s and 80s. This should not be interpreted as a statement of audience naivety, rather a simple cyclic evolution. Twenty years ago, “Desert Hearts” (1985) and “Do the Right Thing” (1989) were independent films dealing with the controversial topics of homosexuality and race respectively, now audiences are given “Brokeback Mountain” (2005) and “Crash” (2004) in their place. How do the latter films compare to their earlier predecessors? A fair share of critics (myself included) have condemned them for their rather simplistic, “Hollywoodized,” narratives while expressing a nostalgia for the films of the past. Well, the cinema of the past has not gone any where, “Fitzcarraldo” and “Aguirre” are still available on DVD and line the bookshelves of cinephiles everywhere and films like “Rescue Dawn” and “Crash” are an entryway for the average moviegoer to explore the past.
This brings me to a rather brief evaluation of “Rescue Dawn.” Do I find it challenging in comparison with “Aguirre”? No, but I give it my recommendation for the same reasons I would recommend “Brokeback Mountain” or “Crash.” “Rescue Dawn” is a well constructed movie that embodies the constructions of the war film and the characteristics of a Herzog film. To draw on my earlier writings, it continues the trend of what I have described as “twin cinema,” a Hollywood cinema with a political edge that Comolli and Narboni explored in their “type e” cinema. While it may not appear radical or thought provoking to our seasoned eyes, movies like “Crash” and “Rescue Dawn” push the general moviegoer (and viewers much like my conservative parents) to further explore political issues both in their personal lives and at the movies. This may not be incredibly satisfying for the cinephile, but the general public forms the bulk of the movie going public and with their patronage Hollywood will be pushed closer and closer to the films of the beloved 1970s.
Within this context, Herzog’s film stands much like the films of our beloved auteur canon of last year. Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed,” Pedro Almodovar’s “Volver,” Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Babel” were all the efforts of filmmakers essentially working within conventions and walking in place while the consensus of the general public catches up. Attempting to find “Fitzcarraldo” in “Rescue Dawn” is a lost cause because they are two completely different films separated by historical context. “Rescue Dawn” is conventional but that does not rule out its outstanding qualities. Herzog’s film still expresses his characteristic issues of existential crisis, they’re just displaced into his contemplative landscape shots, deliberate fading to black, and the mesmerizing performances by Christian Bale and Steve Zahn (an actor who has much to give the cinema beyond comic relief bit parts). Another group of films like “Aguirre“ and “Fitzcarraldo” will come along eventually but, in the mean time, little Werner needs to make a movies that can drum up an audience for them.
Drew Morton is a graduate student at the University of California-Los Angeles. Also a frequent contributor to the media blog "Dr. Mabuse's Kaleido-Scope," Drew is currently researching the aesthetics of comic book adaptations from Winsor McCay to "300."
