Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire (2004)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Peter Raymont

Writer:

Roméo Dallaire (book)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The story of Canadian Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, and his controversial command of the United Nations mission to Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. |

Plot Keywords:

Genocide | United Nations Mission | Rwanda | United Nations | Africa

Awards:

6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Roméo Dallaire

...

Himself (as Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire)

Also Known As:

J'ai serré la main du diable - Roméo Dallaire (Canada: French title)
Shake Hands with the Devil (Australia) (DVD title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Iceland:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Rwanda

Company:

White Pine Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Redford personally came to the film's opening at the Sundance Film Festival and introduced the film. At the end he said that this documentary is the type of film he created Sundance for in the first place. Source:

"when humans aren't enough"

This incredible documentary must be seen. The irony that Romeo Dallaire, the only man who actually stayed in Rwanda during the genocide, would feel the most guilt over the mass slaughter is incredible. This film needs to be seen in the context of current African tragedies. Not simply Sudan, but the LRA's child soldiers of Uganda, the gruesome and pervasive civil wars in Burundi, DRC, and the Cote d'Ivoire. These conflicts are complex and ignored by the world. See this film and become more informed on African politics which are destroying the lives of tens of thousands of human beings. There are possibilities to help, seek out large NGOs such as Oxfam, Medecins Sans Frontieres, and the Heifer Organization; or smaller, more specialized NGOs such as Care For Life. This film helps us all to realize we cannot ignore the realities of developing nations' violence and poverty. In another fantastic documentary, "Born into Brothels," one of the children says something to the effect of "I like this picture, though it is sad, we have to look at it because that is the way she lives and it is truth." If an impoverished 10-year-old can come to that realization, so must the rest of the world.