werner herzog's RESCUE DAWN (2007)

one of the most immediately apparent qualities of Herzog's Vietnam-era POW drama is a relative technical crudity, particularly compared with the stylistically slick (albeit usually "gritty") war films we're accustomed to; it's pieced together without much regard for useful conventions of story and pacing, and only occasionally takes the time to drink in the imposing splendor of the Laotian jungles that so thanklessly serve as its backdrop. but this indifference to expectations is symptomatic of what ends up being the film's greatest strength: downed American pilot Deiter Dengler's harrowing journey into and out of a makeshift prisoner camp is lent an astonishing dimension of truth (as it deserves, being a true story) by Herzog's dismissive attitude towards affected Hollywood scriptcraft. Dengler's fiancée, for instance, is mentioned in a brief anecdote, but we aren't subjected to mooshy bookends; Dengler recounts his childhood inspiration to be an aviator, but we aren't whisked away to flashback; Dengler is betrayed, and the betrayer walks away from the narrative's grasp, or concern. instead, there are only scenes, however disjointed, from the barefooted jungle travails of a mild man unwavering in his intent to emerge a survivor, and even if Herzog never hits at the heart of Dengler's character, his journey is uniquely credible enough to make us reflect on our own.