MovieChat Forums > Rescue Dawn (2007) Discussion > Rescue Dawn was like a comedy to me

Rescue Dawn was like a comedy to me

posted 16 years ago by McSpaniard
31 replies | jump to latest

I just watched Rescue Dawn and it was very different to how I imagined it to be. I haven't seen Werner Herzog's other films but I know roughly what they're about (as in: a one line summary :-p).

I thought Rescue Dawn would be about a man's escape and subsequent survival in the jungle. I wanted to watch it because of Christian Bale's magnetic screen presence and the possibility of some good old action-packed chase sequences and tense, stealthy moments.

Instead, the film I saw was, for the most part, set in the prison camp and, most unexpectedly for me, it was FUNNY. I've only read a few bits and pieces about the film since watching it but no one seems to mention how funny it is; it could almost be advertised as a comedy.

The acting in this film is brilliant. I have a new-found respect for Bale, but his co-stars were also brilliant. The little mannerisms and body language really added to the comic value. And I loved Dieter Dengler's positive attitude and happy disposition. I never would've thought seeing people in a prison camp could be this uplifting but it was! The little moments of human kindness and childish squabbling were very funny but also touching.

But did anyone else find this film as humourous as I did? I know it's "inspired by a true story" and there are certainly sad moments, but, on the whole, it was a pretty funny film.

I've read in other threads on this board that Rescue Dawn is quite different from Herzog's other films. Do his other films share the great, naturalistic(?) acting in this film that makes it so funny and touching?

[–] coolbrett 16 years ago

Yeah same with me. Im not sure if it was just a bad script/direction or whether it was intended to be like this. I expected a movie like Schindler's List or something. And Dieter Dangler was just a very weird guy. Everything he said and did, especially given the situation he was in, was just odd. But I still liked the film though

The ship sinks in Titanic!

[–] Every_Time_I_Die 16 years ago

You really expected this to be like Schindler's List? No wonder you were disappointed.

[–] coolbrett 16 years ago

actually i didnt mean to say that. I meant i just expected it to be 100% serious and it just wasnt

The ship sinks in Titanic!

[–] gspinoza 16 years ago

I found nothing to laugh at. Maybe I just watched a different movie...

[–] McSpaniard 16 years ago

It was clearly supposed to be funny. Just look at the expressions and mannerisms of the characters. An obvious example is when Dengler is introduced to the other prisoners. That scene is fulll of funny moments.

[–] allseeing 16 years ago

I don't think the film is an out and out comedy, rather that it has comical bits, just like real life does, depite it's adversity. Attempting to see a funny side of difficult situations is how many people react.

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[–] lowrises 16 years ago

Thaught this movie was funny in a positive way and I kinda loved it for its humorous moments. Most of Herzog's work takes itself pretty serious and comes rather dry, good stuff alltogether, namly his 70ies early 80ies movies like Nosferatu, Fitcarraldo and Aguirre the Wrath of God, but this one was different in a charming way while not loosing grip on its severe topic.

[–] trymyproduct11 15 years ago

Anyone who thinks Herzog's films are dry and self-serious clearly knows very little of his work. Ever see Stroszek? Woyzeck? Even Dwarfs Started Small? Absurdist humor is a Herzog staple.

[–] Russian_Sundays 12 years ago

Even Aguirre is pretty funny in parts.

[–] dorisblake 15 years ago

heheh i laughed every time they said his name. his name alone made the movie funny.

[–] freepeto 16 years ago

This film is tragically funny.

You've got these POWs that are slipping over the edge of craziness, maybe even already fallen flat on their faces over it. Going crazy limits one's mind from processing rational thought and can force you to have skewed emotions at inappropriate times. This makes the characters seem quite child-like, even in the worst of conditions. In a sense, their years and years of developing manners have been wiped clean thanks to their imprisonment.

It's intended to be funny. Not everyone will catch on to it because some will have a hard time looking past their obvious hardships, but there's no doubt that it's supposed to make you laugh. And that's the tragedy of it. Why are you laughing at these people put in such an unfortunate place? Do their actions and mannerisms overpower the fact that they're crazy and facing death?

[–] rothx16 16 years ago

There were some VERY funny moments in it, like during the training movie at the beginning. That's what they call "comic relief". I'm sure the movie wasn't meant to be another "Platoon". Who needs that sort of pain and stuff again?
It was one of the best, not that there are many, war movies set in Vietnam I've ever seen.

[–] Crowe2005 16 years ago

I found this movie to be a serious drama, but with many humorous moments thru-out---just like in real life!!! So, to me it was a perfect blend with great performances by everyone! Bale played Dieter perfectly--if you watch the documentary (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) you will see that he was an optimistic and quirky fellow-who Bale got just right! There were so many funny lines in this movie-which broke up the sadness and seriousness of the situation--overall a very well made movie by Werner Herzog!
I have the dvd and have watched it many times, not to mention seeing it twice in the theatre when it 1st came out!
Steve Zahn mentioned in an onterview that Christian Bale is one of the funniest persons he has ever worked with and that he should do a comedy!
I like it when he holds the makeshift key he made out of the nail"I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!" it cracks me up everytime!

"keep it kind" LUKE GOSS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBBXRQHKFcE

[–] Esmacious 16 years ago

I came here to post the same thing - parts of it were hilarious.

There's the kind of touching stuff like when they're playing the fantasy fridge game and Dieter can't stop himself interrupting Duane's go, but also more on-the-edge stuff like the part where he's burned the abandoned huts to attract the helicopter's attention and just when he thinks he and Duane are about to be rescued, they start firing on him and he shouts up at the helicopter "you idiots, you almost killed me!". That cracked me up

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[–] MinimallyTalentedSpoiledBrat 15 years ago

i felt the same thing! and dieter is a weird guy .

[–] ksmail-1 15 years ago

I pretty much agree with all you said, I just finished it a few minutes ago and I'm serious I had more laugh out loud moments than I've had during some comedies. Christian Bale was just so funny all the time he really is a great actor, I think being funny was his intention. And Jumbo laughing haha.

[–] little_joost 15 years ago

Their were some funny bits, but every good war movie I can think of has them. If you thought the movie was funny in general, I just think you don't have any imagination of how *beep* up it would be to be a prisoner inside Vietnam. My uncle has been a prisoner for years, and he is still a wreck because of it...

Its even a bit insulting to call this movie almost a comedy.

[–] dpacsaml 15 years ago

I thought the funniest part was when Bale tries to get out of the cuffs at night and asks the other prisoners, "Do you have nail?" and Steve Zahan says, "No, but Ive got a wrench up my ass!" It just came out of nowhere..Had me cracking up!

[–] jbmarcy 15 years ago

Yeah, it is funny. Not a comedy, but there are numerous examples that are really gag scenes.

The prisoners sitting dejected on the picnic table bench, and the little dog bounces in on hind legs, tongue wagging. Steve Zahn tells it to go away, there's no food today, and it exits stage right. It is an inherently dark picture, but just a light funny moment within it.

And when Steve Zahn is "stacking it up" with his dream refrigerator contents, Christian Bale keeps interrupting him until Steve Zahn just breaks and stares at him and, with such vulnerability and earnestness, asks him why he has to interrupt the fantasy, every time.

It's filled with little moments that are sad when you describe them, almost poking fun at how pathetic and depressing the life as a POW was and what you find yourself clinging to for comfort and hope. But I think those scenes were deliberately thrown in, and to be funny, to give the viewer the same feeling a POW might have had; you find whatever spark of amusement and hope you can in the smallest of moments, because otherwise you'd go insane.

If you think about it, Christian Bale's character is the only one who doesn't seem to have lost his humanity or his spirit by the end, because he's the one guy not drowning in the tragedy of it all.