Simple Is Good

I think I like Christian Bale movies. I mean, seeing his name on the cover of this DVD was reason enough to ascertain a "decent" rating for the flick, if not better.

This one's based on a true story, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war. Dieter Dengler, a US Navy pilot on his maiden mission, is forced to crash land his fighter after being hit by enemy artillery. The lone airman in foreign territory makes his way through the jungle and is taken captive in the process.

The experience in the prison camp, meeting inmates and a handful of torturous acts bring out the best in Dengler. Keeping his wits about him, Bale stealthily plans an escapade from the prison, receiving mixed reactions from fellow war prisoners.

It did take some time to get 'into' the movie as such, but it never put me off or anything. What I really liked about the movie is the simplicity with which Werner Herzog (director) has shown the happenings. Being a factual based storyline, you can't really expand or place peripheral scenes at the forefront. There were a few spots where I pondered over things - don't matter much though. Yup, it has the tense gripping moments capsuled in spurts along the reel.

A nice movie on the whole. I'm attaching a few snapshots from the flick for appreciation of the cinematography/scene/perspective...whatever.