Saturday, January 26, 2008
TRIAL
Today's movie was Werner Herzog's documentary
Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1998)
This is the story of Dieter Dengler whose tale of survival after being shot down in the Viet Nam war is as harrowing as any I have ever heard.
Herzog revisited the story in the film Rescue Dawn (2007) which I will be seeing next. Christian Bale and Steve Zahn.
The narrator of this film is Dengler himself.
He recounts his story from the time he first saw a plane closeup, during WWII, flying in on a bombing run, the wing feet away from his window, the canopy down with the pilot looking right at him.
He immediately wanted to fly.
His odyssey from war torn Germany, his journey to the US, into the Air Force, into flight training and eventually as a fighter-bomber pilot himself is, up to the time of his plane crash, a classic and heroic immigrant tale.
The whole film is thrilling.
He was a handsome guy.
Dengler died at age 62 after flying as a test pilot and with TWA.
To continue the agony, he died of Lou Gehrig's disease.
This film explores the sources of Dengler's courage and stamina.
It is superhuman.
As a result of this I am not sure I want to see the dramatization but, if Dengler could do it, I guess that I can watch it.
They reenact some of the travails with Laotians in the approximate locations here he was. This all brings the experience back most vividly.
His friendship with his co-escapee Duane is the most touching thing.
This gets a 4 out of Netflix5.
I would see this again just to be with him. Herzog provides that level of intimacy.
