Director Herzog always has a ball with confusion

By Tatiana Siegel

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Most directors strive for control. Werner Herzog thrives on chaos.

Throughout his career, the German filmmaker has delved into the most hostile terrain accompanied by volatile personalities like longtime collaborator Klaus Kinski to realize his uniquely ambitious cinematic visions.

With such classics as 1972's "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" to "Fitzcarraldo" a decade later to the more recent documentary "Grizzly Man," Herzog has demonstrated a thirst for madness.

His latest film -- MGM's "Rescue Dawn," which opens July 4 -- marks the director's first foray into a more conventional commercial genre. Nevertheless, Herzog continued to embrace the unpredictability that has defined his 45-year filmography.

"He's about accepting accidents, really, which can often be the most interesting moments in a film," says Christian Bale, who stars in the true-life story of Dieter Dengler, who beat incredible odds by breaking out of a Laotian POW camp and surviving a jungle trek to freedom. "The possibility of some kind of chaos is always more interesting than order."

Despite the systematic disorder, the film's cast kept complete faith in their captain during the three-month shoot in the unfriendly Thai jungle.

"He's very comfortable with chaos," says Jeremy Davies, who plays a fellow American POW. "He has the capacity to remove himself, detach himself from any fear. To be a great filmmaker, you need that because so many things can derail a film."

With Dengler, the director found a kindred spirit -- a man unafraid to look into the void. In fact, before filming the narrative "Rescue Dawn," Herzog helmed a documentary about Dengler titled "Little Dieter Needs to Fly." Although Dengler died six years ago, Herzog says that the German-born U.S. Air Force pilot continues to be a guiding figure.