War without Patriotism:
Rescue Dawn
December 6, 2007
Rescue Dawn is unlike any other film by Werner Herzog. It is a straightforward mass-audience film from the director of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982).. films that are decidedly off beat. On the other hand Rescue Dawn is the twin of Herzog's documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997).. recreating in a dramatic setting the vivid descriptions of Dieter Dengler that are captured in the documentary. It is as if Herzog decided that here is a story that must be told to a wider audience than would ever watch the documentary. There was something important enough in this story to warrant its re-telling, and not only that but to complete this re-telling in a style that has broad Hollywood appeal.
Vietnam is a loaded topic.. and when Rescue Dawn opens with some stock footage that is also featured in Apocalypse Now, we are aware of the cultural baggage. Herzog ditches the "Flight of the Valkyries" so as to animate the napalm bombs with a more soothing classical piece. There will be a similarly contrarian nature on display throughout the film. I am not sure I have ever seen a jungle so vividly green and lushly beautiful.
Herzog is an expert at appropriating historical material for his own ends. Lessons of Darkness (1992) is a stunning vision of the burning oil wells in the aftermath of the first Gulf War.. but instead of having anything to say about the Gulf War.. or even the environmental destruction.. Herzog uses the images to illustrate his own poetic fiction. Rescue Dawn similarly dances away from any serious engagement with the Vietnam War, the politics of torture, or questions about the representation the other.. and adopts a much narrower frame than we would expect.
This frame of interest can be defined as the human spirit of survival and brotherhood. There is not much reflection on what ideologies drive these values because Herzog does not believe they are secondary values. This tremendous need to live goes so deep in Dieter (Christian Bale) that there is no way to discuss the matter. Characters in these situations are not doing what they realize in their minds is the right thing; they are acting in the only way they can.. mindlessly and naturally.
In Rescue Dawn it comes as a surprise when Dieter's actions are co-opted by social groups. At the end of the film when he gets a hero's welcome on the aircraft carrier, he is immediately asked by the MC about his faith in God and country. Dieter looks around but only says that he needs a steak. When asked to give some word of advice that could help out the other men in a time of need he can only say: "Empty what is full; fill what is empty; scratch where it itches".. lines that are hardly a statement of faith, only an affirmation of immediate response to the physical world. No wonder there is not a lot of reflection.. no Terence Malick inspired mental wandering to liven up the interior worlds of the characters.
There are few discernible moral judgments made through the film. It is clear that Dieter did not enlist in order to to war, but only to fulfill his dream of flying. When confronted by the Viet Cong with a chance to denounce the US, he demurs.. noting how the US has treated him well enough. The question as to how someone would let himself get involved in a war toward which he felt indifferent is not asked. The implication, it seems to me, is that we are all necessarily part of conflicts and groups that are beyond our control.. and patriotism and various other faiths guide those group refluxes. But for an artist to focus on such changing human ideals is to lose sight of the deeply human drive that makes Dieter a survivor and a loyal friend. Being that kind of person is not something you think about.. it is something you just are.
