Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997): A

A stunning tale of survival in which director Werner Herzog once again crafts the portrait of a kindred adventurous spirit, Little Dieter Needs To Fly focuses on Dieter Dengler, a German-American who recounts his youthful dream of being a pilot, his success at fulfilling this aspiration by flying warplanes for the U.S. military during Vietnam, and the terrible ordeal he suffered as a POW in Laos after being shot down during combat. Candid and courageous, Dengler speaks in rushed, rapid-fire sentences that – when coupled with Herzog’s recreation of Dengler’s hand-bound trip through the Laotian jungle with local men posing as his captors – create the haunting impression that Dengler, while at once confronting his personal history via participation in this documentary, is also in some way also eager to hurriedly put distance between himself and the traumatic ordeal. Using stock footage of Vietnam bombing and and evocative singing for his soundtrack, Herzog creates a mood of existential surrealism that’s nearly as gripping as the grounded-in-reality stories told by Dengler, a staunch nonconformist who endured a childhood in post-WWII Germany by eating wallpaper (which contains nutrients), and who now habitually paints pictures of open doorways – symbols of safe passage and freedom that speak volumes about Dengler’s tireless, tumultuous attempts (at least until his death in 2001) to come to terms with his horrific past.

Comments

[Dan]

It was the Laotian jungle, not Vietnam's, but it was filmed in Thailand. Also, the odd music isn't chanting but I believe it's Eskimo throat singing. Top film but.

[Nick]

Dan - Thanks for the info.

[ELI]

Christian Bale will be nominated for an academy award and he will win!

[Blaked]

It's actually called Tuva,or Mongolian throat singing...The song is on a compilation album called "Deep in the Heart of Tuva".

[bruce barker]

what is the german song playing in background soft trumpet when dieter reflects about the big muddy?