FilmVomit

I cannot decide if this film is an example of Herzog attempting to appease Hollywood, or Herzog trying to be Hollywood. Bits of classic Herzog abound, but they have been glossed and spit-shined into something Bigger. And cleaner. Whereas Kinski’s Dieter would have crawled from the forest covered in so much filth as to be barely recognizable as human (though, of course, Kinski never was actually human); Bale’s Dieter comes out with artfully placed gashes, his skin still visible through the grime. The film is mystifying in that it seems so very familiar, and yet I cannot seem to grab hold of it. It is slithery and slick in a way that feels so very un-Herzog. I am accustomed to feeling ill after I watch a Herzog film, to being unable to rid myself of it no matter how hard I try. This one won’t stay with me though I want it to.
Bale as Dieter, however, was profoundly distressing. And not simply for the lengths to which he will go, physically, to achieve a role.

Rescue Dawn