Based off his subject in Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Rescue Dawn chronicles the true story of Dieter Dangler, a German-born American who is shot down during a black ops mission in Vietnam. Herzog has a special way of pacing his films, as Dieter crashes his plane within the first ten minutes of the film, cutting things to the chase.

What follows is Dieter’s capture by the Vietcong and eventual imprisonment in their camp. Here he meets the other POWs, including Steve Zahn, who gives an incredible performance. We see them go through their daily routines in the camp, until their eventual escape.

Rescue Dawn is Herzog’s first Hollywood-funded feature film. Granted, having a huge amount of money at his disposal must have made him glad, but working with a huge crew dampened his spirits. That didn’t stop him from building incredible sets for the POW camp, or having the most beautiful cinematography I’ve seen in recent times. The lush greens of the surrounding forests look spectacular! Herzog’s preferred use of cinematography, to create the search for ecstatic truth, is at its best here, as we see the camera lingering after scenes are more than over, showing the beautiful surroundings of Vietnam, as well as the people who inhabit the country.

Once again we see Herzog explore the theme of man vs nature, a theme that is recurrent in his work. As one prisoner points out, the jungle is where the real danger lies. Sneaking through the jungle full of dangerous animals, pesky insects and snakes is one thing, and adding the threat of Vietcong lurking about only makes matters worse. Hope is also prevalent, which prevails in my favorite scene in the whole film. During his imprisonment, Dieter is surprised that his fellow POWs remembered his birthday, and for once we see every character smile and laugh. It’s this small scene that Dieter, the optimist, truly shines and his infectious mood taps into everyone around him, as well as the audience.