Film: Little Dieter Needs to Fly

Given that Little Dieter Needs to Fly was showing in the BFI, which is where I was supposed to be headed yesterday until a signal failure derailed my plans, I could be forgiven for some trepidation this evening. But I made it with, oh, minutes to spare.

Delighted to find that central London was substantially cooler than Kensington, I made my way from the Tube station, entering the BFI from the river front, which meant that I had to scuttle past the cinema I actually wanted to get to the box office, and then scuttle all the way back again. Anyway, I made it well before the lights went down. This was showing in NFT1, the largest screen, which, given the meagre turnout, seemed excessive. But I suppose it worked out best for scheduling. My first time in that screen, and my, it's impressive.

The film itself is a documentary about, and starring, Dieter Dengler - who grew up fascinated by planes, even the ones bombing his German town at the end of the second world war - and, there being no German air force at the time, emigrated to the States and joined the Navy. He subsequently flew in the Vietnam war, and was shot down over Laos, then captured and held in inhumane conditions and tortured for two months, before escaping and ultimately being rescued. His story apparently inspired the film Rescue Dawn, directed, as is this documentary, by Werner Herzog. They're running a season of his at the BFI, but with all his films that are available on YouTube, this is likely to be the only one I actually go to see.

Well, you couldn't make it up, and I see why they made a film of it, as well as a documentary. The details - like how, when he was a child, they would scour bombed buildings and bring home wallpaper, which their mother would cook because of the nutrients in the glue. The descriptions of the prison camp, and the reconstructions of the marches through the jungle. Gripping. In spite of Dieter's tendency to talk nineteen-to-the-dozen, until you hardly know what he's saying. Glad I saw this film.

So, tomorrow is set to be another film - Much Ado About Nothing. With the original Shakespearian text, in a modern setting. The trailer looks great, and it's on in the Odeon, which means I can use my voucher. Hooray!