Rescue Dawn proves Werner Herzog wasn't finished  with the story of his friend and P.O.W. survivalist, Dieter Dengler, which he covered in his documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly. On the surface, this new offering is a solid prison-escape movie, set in a makeshift prison camp in the middle of the Laotian jungle. It's filmed with an experienced handle on production, pacing, and characterization, and some of the suspense sequences here are truly gripping. And in the acting department, Christian Bale, as Dengler, has all the bases covered.

 Dig a little deeper, though, and you can find Herzog's pet themes and concerns, particularly that of man's will to live in the face of an uncaring universe that would sooner kill you than save you. Dengler stays sane and clear-thinking, even as his fellow prisoners are mentally falling apart; his determination is a display of human will at its strongest and his journey is presented without any sentimentalization. 

Although Rescue Dawn doesn't necessarily register as a whole new experience (this genre is one of cinema's most reliable, after all), one can admire the way Herzog appears to tackle it as if it is. His admiration of Dengler (who passed away six years ago) is made clear by the way he lets his story tell itself; Herzog trusts in the story without furnishing any embellishment, and the result packs a good punch all its own. (Capsule review.)

(Released by MGM and rated "PG-13" for some sequences of intense war violence and torture.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.