Thinkin' about Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn" Quiz

Answer: Dieter's world has been turned upside-down.

One could also say it shows that, despite the presence of ants, prison life will be no picnic. Dieter's immense courage in the face of monstrous cruelty is demonstrated in this scene, when the ants don't make him cry uncle.

Answer: Dieter is now, without a doubt, in "deep trouble".

Although this shot proves "Rescue Dawn" is a well-made film, with much depth, it leaves murky, muddy questions over whether the film's various torture methods are watered-down versions of "genuine" torture.

Dieter's utter helplessness while submerged in the well demonstrates how little control he now has while held in captivity by the communist Pathet Lao forces. He is at their mercy, and they have none. He is truly in deep trouble now.

This shot lingers for a relatively long time -- long enough to make some in the theater audience squirm uncomfortably in their seats, while others just chomp away on their buttery-flavored popcorn.

Answer: It shows the enemy's culture doesn't seem to view the prisoners' treatment as abhorrent.

Nothing in the women's eyes suggests they view the torture going on as cruel or inhumane. Why not? Have they themselves been subjected to so much brutality they are numb? Are they just simple savages who know no better? How would they react if their own sons were being tortured? Why do we "know" they are "wrong" to show no emotion? How different are we from those women, if we learn of torture being carried out somewhere on the planet, but don't do anything about it?

Answer: It shows he isn't the average prisoner, by being determined, clever and knowledgeable enough to "provide the key to escape".

Dieter risks both his and his fellow prisoners' lives and welfare, to accomplish the nail's theft and his subsequent crafting of the key. This shows both his steely resolve to hammer out the impediments to escape, and that Dieter won't accept the awkward sleeping arrangements lying down. He is no hapless tool!

Dieter Dengler's own wrenching account of his capture and escape was pounded out in his 1996 book, "Escape from Laos".

Answer: Good things come in small packages.

Jumbo, the only "bad guy" whose eyes aren't empty or hate-filled, is almost a breath of fresh air in the suffocating atmosphere of the prison.

"Share your rice and people will be nice", while appropriate in a discussion concerning the symbolism and conflicts inherent in Jumbo, is not a well-known cliché, and therefore is not the correct answer.

And now, because good films ask questions within questions, let's imitate art by asking a question within a FunTrivia quiz question:

Which saying best fits the scene when Dieter and Duane are sent tumbling by the water/mudslide?

a. It's all downhill from here.
b. Don't just pick at your rice, gobble it while you can.
c. It's raining men.
d. The whirly bird gets the squirm.

Okay, I admit that including this question and the other two or three discarded ones would've made this quiz more like a bad film -- one the director doesn't have the sense to shorten.

Though the correct answer would likely be the "downhill" one, if you saw "Rescue Dawn" you'd know I included this question mostly because answer "d" refers to the very brief and amusing snake-in-a-helicopter moment!

Answer: All of these

Maybe the television show, "Fear Factor" has lowered people's hesitance to consume unappetizing foodstuffs, but this scene forces the viewer to consider whether he or she could eat those squirmy things if plunked in that situation... It may be easy to say "sure, I would", but remember, all but one of the starving men refuse the gristly, grisly fodder.

By the way, is that great acting, or does Christian Bale really like those things... or both? He looks downright gleeful while shoving those creepy critters in his mouth!

Answer: "...encourage the viewer to do some 'sole-searching'."

One reason I am trying to infuse a little humor into the quiz is simply because of Dieter Dengler's jokester nature. His awe-inspiring and almost relentless sense of humor seems to have been a key component in his ability to survive treatment that drove others into submission, madness, or death.

So, to tie in to this question's "footwear" theme, should some heel send me a note laced with criticism, saying I've gone beyond toe-ing the line of good taste in a quiz dealing with atrocities, and to hold my tongue, I won't be suede. I'll...why, I'll tell 'em to put a sock in it, or perhaps to get instep. On second thought, I won't -- to avoid getting the boot off FT for rudeness. Wouldn't want a s(c)andal.

Answer: By keeping the camera, and therefore the audience, fully immersed in the dense jungle, we intimately feel Dieter and Duane's struggle.

According to Daniel Zalewski's article titled, "The Ecstatic Truth" in the April 24, 2006 edition of "The New Yorker", Herzog told Bale, "You have never seen anything like this on film before, Christian. I am so happy. The wrangling with the vines, it's all physical. It's physical what you are doing and what the camera is doing. So you don't sense the camera. It's like another escapee. It really feels like the jungle is swallowing everything, even the camera."

That quote sure captures Herzog's powerful verbal style as well as his passion for jungles!

The New Yorker article provides a lengthy, fascinating look at the making of "Rescue Dawn" and is well worth a Google search or a visit to your library.

Answer: Despite reaching freedom, Dieter has to escape again.

Yes, our hero Dieter chooses to undergo yet another escape, this time to circumvent the interrogating military bigwigs so he can more swiftly return to his cheering shipmates. Fortunately, this cunning exit from the hospital doesn't involve such treachery as what he's been through in the previous months.

In real life, when Dieter was rescued from the jungle in 1966, he was in far worse shape than shown by Christian Bale's worn, emaciated characterization. He suffered from malnutrition, missing teeth, and many injuries and infections, and had gone from 157 to 98 pounds.

The cruelest irony came when Dieter Dengler was ravaged by ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), which slowly made him a prisoner in his own body. He died from the disease in 2001 at 62 years of age. According to Arlington Cemetery's website, Dieter's ex-wife stated, "He said his time in that prison camp was nothing compared with having ALS. He said he could escape from the prison camp, but there was no way he could escape ALS. There was no way out for him."

Answer: "Little Dieter needs to fly."

The cold feet line is spoken posthumously by Duane in a very sad, haunting scene -- not an appropriate moment for product promotion. "I am the wrath of God. Who else is with me?" (not spoken at all in "Rescue Dawn") is from Herzog's tremendous 1972 film, "Aguirre, Wrath of God", a very dark journey along the Amazon River. The "Jungle Cruise" line isn't in the film.

In "Rescue Dawn" Christian Bale softly utters, "Little Dieter needs to fly" in a sly reference to two things: One is Dieter Dengler's childhood determination to become a pilot for the U.S.A., forged while growing up through air raids and bombings in Germany during World War II.

The second reference is more commercial -- while "Rescue Dawn" is Werner Herzog's Hollywood-funded action flick dramatizing the real-life story of Dieter Dengler's Laotian captivity and escape, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" is the title of Werner Herzog's 1997 film documenting Dieter's story. Much of the amazing tale is told by Dengler himself, and if you haven't seen it, please do -- it's another Herzog gem!