by LeFlambeur on Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:10 am
I caught Rescue Dawn the other weekend and liked it. What follows here are a few half-baked ramblings from a Herzog novice. Besides Rescue Dawn all I've seen are Aguirre: the Wrath of God, and Grizzly Man.
Based on what I've seen Herzog's own metaphysical disposition is difficult to get a handle on. He seems to be trying out various philosophical positions through his subjects. After about an hour and a half of footage taken from Timothy Treadwell's camera in Grizzly Man Herzog finally disagrees with Treadwell's world view saying "to me there is no secret world of the bear, I see only the blank stare of an animal interested in food." This discord between the perceived and the "actual" seems to run throughout the work of his that I've seen thus far. "You're a strange bird Dieter, a man tries to kill you and you want his job," Zahn's charachter says when Dieter describes an encounter with an ally aircraft he had as a child. Dieter's response to the plane was aesthetic, he did not view it pragmatically, his description sounds like that of a fiery avenging angel, a transcendent god of death. This connects to the opening stock footage, in which the bombing is also viewed aesthetically and musically underscored to seem like fireworks.
The three films examine how extreme conditions bring people to a state that could be described as insanity. These states of consciousness bring out the subjects innermost views of reality. Aguirre seemed to suggest that man's various ideals are ill-equipped to understand a cruel and indifferent universe. The camera (being an indifferent mechanical device) is a well equipped tool for this sort of examination. If this is what attracted Herzog to the cinema, it would explain his taste for long takes and generally realist demeanor. The jungle in Rescue Dawn is not the expressionist nightmare of previous 'nam films. Herzog, like his protagonist, has seen worse, and the film is fairly well balanced. The early torture sequences are the most difficult to watch, but even Dengler's captors are eventually humanized. Herzog does not shy away from the rough edges of their near animal existence, nor does he make a concerted effort to portray their situation as especially horrifying. The guards are portrayed not as malicious, but rather as existing in conditions not radically dissimilar from the pows. When they plan to kill the prisoners it is not a vicious decision so much as a pragmatic one. What makes Rescue Dawn different from what I've seen from Herzog is how it ends on a note of uplift.
Unlike other Herzogian subjects, Dieter doesn't succumb to his delusions, he remains semi-aware of his imaginings. When he sees helicopters coming he says "oh God please be real," acknowledging a reality outside of his perception. Interestingly enough, it could be said that it was Dieters most "American" qualities that keep him alive his ingenuity, optimism, willingness to take charge, bravery, etc. At one point he even smiles and says "Howdy" to the guards. Like that other German filmmaker Wim Wenders, Herzog has also become fascinated by the American character, though he doesn't explore it as extensively. I can see why the director identifies so strongly with Dieter, both have found success in America. What makes Dieter unique from the other two (Aguirre, Treadwell) is that he has survived, and so he is viewed more with admiration than derision.
There is something unsettling about the ending. Dieter escapes the harsh jungle existence to the military base. When the helicopter picks him up it mirrors the training footage seen earlier. The audience feels Dengler's sense of relief and bewilderment. Butterfingers, cake, the kind of things the prisoner's dreamed about are realized before him. In the end, hoisted up by the crowd he looks almost childlike. He has come full circle, now celebrated by the indifferent American military machine that has repeatedly tried to destroy him. They celebrate his victory but do not comprehend what it took to attain it. When they ask him in front of a crowd about what he believed in he says "I believe I need a steak." When asked to give advice he says to "fill that which is empty, empty that which is full. Scratch where it itches." I think checking out the doc on this guy might shed some more insight into Herzog's ideas about him. Rescue Dawn may not be a masterpiece, but it is a solid film worth exploring.
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