Watching "Rescue Dawn" is as close as most of us will ever get to

understanding how it felt to be a prisoner of war in Southeast Asia during the

Vietnam War era. Directed by internationally renowned Werner Herzog, the

movie brings to life the true story of U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler: a German

native whose plane was shot down over Laos on a top-secret mission. This led

to his capture by enemy forces, incarceration as a POW, ultimate success in

convincing the other POWS to escape, and his dramatic rescue.

Unfortunately the film opens with a tagline about this being a true story; during moments of high suspense I kept reminding myself that I was fairly certain Dengler was going to make it out of Southeast Asia alive since he didn't seem to have any means of communicating his story other than living to tell it. What I didn't know before watching "Rescue Dawn," is that Herzog worked with Dengler making the 1997 documentary, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly." Many viewers and critics were already familiar with the facts of Dengler's life and that he was kind of nutty --- and here I just thought Christian Bale, who plays Dengler, was giving the goofiest performance of his career during the first third of the film.

Even with Dengler's habit of talking English to rural Asians, smiling at enemy villagers and complaining that Geneva Convention niceties were being ignored, Bale wins me over once he joins the ranks of the other prisoners in the remote camp. Steve Zahn ("Saving Silverman," "Riding in Cars," "Employee of the Month") as Duane, Jeremy Davies ("Solaris," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Spanking the Monkey") as Gene and Abhijati 'Meuk' Jusakul as Phisit are frighteningly convincing as Bale's fellow captives --- emaciated men who clearly have been at the camp for quite some time. There is a collective gasp in the theatre when we see Phisit's contorted body, and another when Gene takes off his shirt to reveal nothing but ribs. Bale is mesmerizing to watch as he becomes one of the haunted and hollow-cheeked (supposedly Bale lost even more weight when playing Trevor Reznik in '04's "The Machinist"). Apparently willing to do anything for a role, Bale was grossly mesmerizing to watch eating a plateful of worms and chomping into a live snake (I checked "Rescue Dawn" websites - he really ate them; no cinematography tricks or stand-ins).

Colorado Springs audiences will probably remember Bale best as Alfred Borden, one of the magicians in "The Prestige" --- a film that garnered local attention because of its scenes set on Pike's Peak and in The Cliff House (shot in studio recreations). He's also known for his role as Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, and as a young prisoner of a different war, Jim Graham in 1987's excellent "Empire of the Sun."

As "Rescue Dawn" illustrates the tedium and horrors of life in a POW camp, Bale adeptly portrays Dengler's unbreakable spirit and his optimism that escape is possible. He wins the respect of his fellow prisoners by improving their nightly conditions and gives them hope. This is in contrast with the foolish predictions of Gene, who keeps repeating that there will not be an official war, and that they will be released and rescued soon. While Duane fears he won't be able to hold on much longer mentally and physically, Gene exemplifies how even the worst routine can become comforting compared to the fear of failure or the unknown.

I applaud Herzog and producers Elton Brand (yes, the same NBA all-star center for the L.A. Clippers), and Steve Marlton for creating a war-related movie that is able to secure a PG-13 rating (there is intense violence in one scene, so please don't bring small children). Yet I find it slightly unbelievable that the language is so tame. Dengler seems a throwback to WWII times. Perhaps other Vietnam films such as "Apocalypse Now," "Platoon," and "Full Metal Jacket" went too far in the other direction, but I know I'd be swearing if I were cutting vines in a jungle for hours, watching rescue planes pass over me without stopping, or having my last morsels of rice swept away by raging monsoon waters.

In addition to commendable performances by numerous Thai actors, there is amazing footage of Thailand's rural interior in this movie. It is hard to appreciate the beauty of the region throughout much of the film however. Herzog employs the dense foliage and rocky cliffs to help communicate utter isolation.

At both the beginning and end of "Rescue Dawn" some comic relief is provided --- and is needed to keep the audience from leaving the theatre thoroughly drained from witnessing a POW's ordeal. To continue the more uplifting endnote, Kimball's should have shown the documentary on Dengler as a complement to "Rescue Dawn."