Little Dieter Needs to Fly Review

Little Dieter Needs To Fly (1998, directed by Werner Herzog) tells the story of Dieter Dengler when he was a POW in Vietnam.  A German emigre to the USA  Dieter had a dream of flying ever since US planes strafed his hometown during WWII.  This move tells through his own words his story as he joined the US armed forces, was called to service in Vietnam, and shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Laos.

The film follows Dieter in the late 1990s as he goes back to Southeast Asia and retraces and retells his story.  It's pretty harrowing what he had to go through.  One can tell that behind Dieter's non-chalant story telling, he's been haunted all his life by his experiences.  It's a very affecting movie and it will stay with you in your mind for a while.