Action/Thriller. Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Galen Yuen, Abhijati Jusakul, Chaiyan Chunsuttiwat, Teerawat Mulvilai

In 1997, director Werner Herzog won numerous awards for his documentary Little Dieter Needs To Fly, a tribute to American serviceman Dieter Dengler, one of the few people to escape from a Laotian prison camp during the Vietnam war.

Herzog revisits this remarkable episode in Rescue Dawn, his first dramatic feature written entirely in English. Blessed with a Hollywood cast and breathtaking location (Thailand), the veteran filmmaker crafts a powerful testament to one man's courage and perseverance, and the enduring power of the human spirit. When we first meet German immigrant Dieter (Bale), he is aboard the USS Ranger in the Gulf of Tonkin, keen to serve the country he now calls home.

He takes part in a top-secret bombing mission, but his plane is shot down. Refusing to denounce America, Dieter is sent to a remote jungle prison, which already houses five inmates. As months become years, the six men bond and Dieter eventually persuades them to fight for their lives. Dengler is brilliantly portrayed by Bale, who wastes away before our eyes. His commitment to the role is unwavering - such as ripping live leeches from his torso or eating great handfuls of live maggots.

FOUR STARS