Review of Rescue Dawn (2007) by Juan C — 04 Jun 2011

Another fantastic performance from Christian Bale, going to method acting extremes of covering himself in leeches, eating maggots and biting the heads off snakes. It is also shot in a realistic style, showing the real torture of the battleground, unlike most war films.

Review circa 2007.

The festival is finally underway. A time to forget about the Summer Blockbuster season that has infected our cinemas of late. It is always a highlight of the year. I started the festival with a viewing of Rescue Dawn and was not disappointed. In fact I doubt I will see a better film this year.

Christian Bale provides another explosive performance as an American pilot shot down over Vietnam. From there it is a story of survival, with the majority of the film dealing with his time in a POW camp and the tortures he is subjected to. The film hinges upon his mega-performance as he takes method acting to a rarely seen level. To see him eat maggots is bizarre, cover himself in leeches is ill-advised, but wrestling with a live snake is plain frightening.

Whenever I hear a film is being made with the backdrop of war, I am skeptical. Surely it is hard to say something that hasn't been said before, and say it better. From this perspective I always look at these films to see what they are adding to the genre. In this case, Rescue Dawn passes my less than scientific litmus test with flying colours.

The film is drawn tightly upon the instincts of survival more than the war itself. In fact the war throughout acts as a backdrop as Christian Bale's character is explored. Few films have shown the horror of the POW camps in such a close-up and realistic way. Most immediately, the roulette scenes in the weak Deer Hunter come to mind. Beyond that I can't think of films with a similar angle, which I find quite strange. The film also touches upon the battle between man and nature similarly explored in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. This time the jungle becomes a fully realised and threatening character in the film.

There was also the humour that existed throughout the film that I admired. Christian Bale's character is a strange creation. A gung-ho type of person, but not cocky in an arrogant way. The guards were also a great bunch. Little Hitler, the laughing midget, and the guard who mixed his love of guns and kung-fu in a way that should be frowned upon. Great guys! I also seemed to be the only person laughing in the theatre as an apparent rescue helicopter began shooting at him. I thought it was more clichà (C) than harrowing and I'm still unsure which way I should have taken the scene.

If there is any criticism of the film, it is the fact that it feels it requires two denouements. Of course it was a relief to see Christian Bale saved and this was the rational ending. But to save him again, for no other purpose than to extend this feeling? It nearly entered a realm of smultz. But the film itself was too magic to be derailed by this mere detail.

Next up are too films of the surrealist ilk. I have high hopes for Paprika, an anime that looks very interesting and has received some high praise. David Lynch's Inland Empire will also be viewed. I am a huge fan of most of his past work. The Elephant Man remains one of the most beautiful and poignant films I have seen. Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive as also fantastic. However, I have the suspicion this will be viewed more out of curiosity than anything else. I guffawed at the 3 hour running time. Surrealism is only grand in short bursts so such a lengthy film runs the risk of becoming tiresome.

It's a pity there weren't a few more films I wanted to see this year. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer remains an outside possibility.