Rescue Dawn

Werner Herzog's sensational narrative version of the story he told in his acclaimed 1997 documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly," about former real-life Navy pilot Dieter Dengler, is a wartime escape movie to top all others. Set in a thick Laotian jungle, Dieter (Christian Bale) becomes the only American to ever break out of a POW camp during the Vietnamese War thanks to his naive indomitable spirit and mental fortitude. Jeremy Davies ("Saving Private Ryan") gives a riveting performance as one of Dieter's emaciated fellow prisoners, but it's Steve Zahn that surprises with what is arguably his first real acting job, and man is he great. Herzog is back with a vengeance, and this movie is incredible.

Rated PG-13, 125 mins. (A) (Five Stars)