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Shake Hands with the Devil (2007)

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23 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
How far we have to go..., 15 October 2007

Author: loco_73 from Canada

I cannot in all honesty discuss this movie with any kind of reasonable and objective framework or point of reference. Though in all earnest I have found myself actively trying to avoid films such as "Shake Hands With The Devil", I cannot help it but be drawn by them even as in the end I pay a price for watching them. "Schindler's List", "Ararat", "The Killing Fields", "Sophie's Choice", "The Pianist" and "Hotel Rwanda" are examples of such movies, movies portraying the cruelty and inhumanity of man towards man. Every time I see such movies I feel drained, ashamed, impotent, angry, complicit, astonished and guilty at my own ignorance, selfishness and apathy. For make no mistake, in some ways we are all guilty, we all share in the blame for all these monstrous calamities that have occurred throughout history, genocide, mass killings, destructions of bodies, minds and souls, at which we stood present aiding their architects and allowing diabolical plans put in motion to proceed unhindered. Mankind's deafening silence and the extinguished voices of all those that perished are our most potent accusers.

Still with all these painful lessons, WE CONTINUE TO DO NOTHING... Years ago in what seems now another lifetime, I too was a refugee, lost to the world, one of those faceless, abandoned and shunned multitudes, millions upon millions of the world's orphans, for that is what refugees are... Yet what I experienced in all my trials and tribulations is but an ounce of what the people of Rwanda experienced back in 1994. Furthermore in my case I was fortunate, no beyond fortunate, I was lucky, truly so, that my outcome was a good one, and was able to find another home and build a new life

When I finished watching "Shake Hands With The Devil", all the painful memories of old came back, flooding my mind. Even so, it is my belief that movies such as these need to be made and these kinds of stories, no matter how painful and depressing, have to be continually told, and in that, a movie such as this is invaluable. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to at least learn something, get a glimpse of people, events and places they most likely will never encounter in their lifetime, tragic though they may all be.

I am very familiar with the story of General Romeo Dallaire, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for this brave, brutally honest and sincere man. Every time I have heard his interviews and speeches he has been jarring in his self-assessment and in the acknowledgment of his own failure, which knowing what we now know about the indifference and willful ignorance of the international community and the United Nations, I highly doubt.

Some have accused Dallaire of grandstanding, yet I see none of that, I see a guilt ridden man that has led a long and difficult struggle to find himself,to rediscover his purpose in life, a long journey from the darkness to the light. This is a man haunted by many demons and dark shadows,that he somehow must now accept and incorporate within his own soul and character. His life's mission is now very clear, to be the voice for all those that died in Rwanda, to bear witness to their tragedy and plight, to keep their memory and story alive, and be our own demon by never letting us forget what we could have and should have done. At the very least and if nothing else, Romeo Dallaire was there and tried his best, and for that nobody can fault him.

All the people involved in this project are to be commended for the job that they did in bringing this tragic episode to life once more. Roy Dupuis should be noted especially for his role, presence and his work in such a difficult movie.

So, go out, see this movie and reflect on what this dark chapter in human history means to you and perhaps look for something within yourself that you could change for the better, and if you can do that, then all of this would have been worth something and perhaps the future is not yet lost to us.

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25 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Shake hands With and Oscar..., 2 October 2007

Author: Jamie Bradford from Canada

Rarely do I watch a movie and get physically affected by it. Crash made tears well, Shake Hands with the Devil made me weep. It made me sick with anguish and sorrow. This movie is the most powerful movie I have ever seen. It's hard to soften the subject matter of this movie, the systematic extermination of nearly a million people, the inaction by the world at large, the plight of a broken soul. "Shake Hands with the Devil" succeeds in bring to light the events that occurred in April, 1994 in the small African nation, as seen through the eyes of Gen. Romeo D'Allaire. Throughout the film we see graphic images of the atrocities that occurred in Rwanda, from dismembered corpses to severed arms, legs, and heads. Rotting piles of bodies on the roadsides and men, women, and children being hacked up in the streets. This movie is not a fun time for anybody. This movie isn't fun. It's depressing. Very, very depressing. I think this is a movie that every single person should see. So that, as Romeo says, No one ever forgets April, 1994 in Rwanda. This movie is deserving of a nomination for an Oscar, it is the best Canadian film I have seen since "Bon Cop Bad Cop".

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21 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
A scathing indictment of the diplomacy of indifference, 6 October 2007

Author: Craig McPherson from Montreal, Canada

Based on the book by the same title, Shake Hands with the Devil chronicles the horrendous experiences of Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire of the Canadian Forces, who headed up the 1994 United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda during the outbreak of that country's genocidal civil war between rival Hutus and Tutsis.

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, this Canadian production, filmed on location in Rwanda, serves as a scathing indictment of humanity in general, and the UN in particular, for turning a blind eye to the human carnage that took place in the former Belgian colony.

Hamstrung by UN orders not to interfere, his men given virtually no ammunition and instructed to only fire if fired upon, the movie chronicles the events that left Dallaire, a once proud and hardened career military officer, broken and teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Unlike 2004's Hotel Rwanda, which chronicled the same events through the smaller story of Paul Rusesabagina, the manager a Kigali Hotel, Shake Hands with the Devil approaches the Rwandan tragedy from a broader perspective, with mixed results. While Spottiswoode places the focus on Dallaire's experiences, which range from playing military goodwill ambassador, to struggling to find ways to protect the innocent, and playing dancing pony to insulated and indifferent UN mandarins, the scope is somewhat too broad leaving the viewer feeling like an outsider looking at a holocaust from a distance, and through bullet-proof glass. UN officials as well as diplomats from France and the US are given cursory walk-ons, with little character development nor insight into their short-sighted actions. Instead, the audience is almost expected to approach this film with prior background knowledge about events leading up to the genocide. Without trying to appear insensitive, as a viewer, a better result might have been yielded if some of the copious screen time devoted to images of Dallaire and his men wading through bodies had instead been given to a closer examination of the motives (or lack thereof) behind the Rwandan abandonment on the part the UN and its principal movers and shakers.

On the plus side, Dupuis' portrayal of Dallaire is among the most eerily accurate renditions by an actor in quite some time. Not only do the two share a striking resemblance, but Dupuis seems to almost become the General in every aspect of his being. As a Canadian familiar with the sight of Dallaire in news reports and interviews, Dupuis' performance is nothing short of impressive.

Though flawed, Shake Hands with the Devil is still a powerful and must see film. As Dallaire himself says to his men, "we will stay to bear witness to that which the world does not want to see". If nothing else, that alone is reason enough to make time for this film.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
The Most Important Film of the Year, 5 October 2007

Author: andell (andell1@juno.com) from Toronto, Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Most people seem to know something bad happened in Rwanda in 1994. The title those people are likely more familiar with, "Hotel Rwanda," depicted the story, with some liberties of course, of a Hutu hotel manager who managed to save over 1,000 people from what would've been certain death by using bribes and his connections. In light of that film, "Shake Hands with the Devil" would almost seem a second film in a trilogy about the horrors of Rwanda.

The film, based on the award winning book by General Romeo Dallaire, is based around the experience of the "Peacekeepers" when all hell broke loose in 1994. The book, and by proxy the film, are much more harrowing accounts than was "Hotel Rwanda" because the film takes no major liberties with the story.

As General Dallaire is in counseling, he recounts his days with UNAMIR, first in New York meeting with those who would give him direction in the mission, and then in Rwanda itself. A beautiful country he calls it, though the subtle signs about the country predict a troubling future.

As the story progresses, he comes face to face with some of the ugly in the country- from the Prime Minister telling him that she and her family were beaten while the Gendarmes (a type of police) waited outside to ensure no help was coming, to the murder of six children deep in the Hutu heartland, to finally a warning by the rebel General Paul Kagame warning that something bad is coming that no one will be able to stop once it comes. Suspicion is further confirmed when an informer with the Interahamwe (Hutu militia, who are largely accused of carrying out the genocide) providing evidence of the planning- large cache's of weapons.

At every turn, Dallaire is frustrated by the lack of resolve on the part of his bureaucratic masters in New York, who constantly tell him to take no action.

Then one night, the President's plane crashes in Kigali, and the Presidential Guard goes crazy. To this day, one of the mysteries is who shot down Juvenal Habyarimana's plane, but this is not addressed in this film because one of the handicaps that the Peacekeepers faced was being prevented from carrying out an investigation.

From there, the country explodes into a genocide that, for the sheer number of victims over a 100 day period, stands alone as the most savage act ever witnessed by humanity. And on this, the film really works superbly.

Dallaire is ordered not to fire unless fired upon, so when the Belgian and Ghanian troops guarding the Prime Minister are confronted, they have no choice but to hand over their weapons. The Ghanians are beaten, while the Belgians are executed by the allegedly rogue Presidential Guard. Indeed, in the first days, most of the high profile Hutu moderates are also summarily assassinated while Dallaire can do nothing but watch.

Of course, he also has to bare witness to slaughter of the innocents as he tirelessly puts forth suggestion after suggestion on how to stop the bloodbath, and his political masters in New York time and time again fail to support him. Ultimately, as the film shows, it takes a toll on Dallaire himself.

In one of the most tongue in cheek examples of futility, Dallaire is armed in almost the entire film, but the only time he fires his gun, it is to save three goats he's purchased from the hungry dogs that are trying to eat them. It is a theatrical device of course, but it is one that was worthy of being included because what the world turned its back on was so absurd to begin with.

"Acts of genocide" but not actually genocide. Eighteen dead Rangers prevented help for roughly 800,000 victims. A French rescue mission for ex-pats which also rescued some of the perpetrators of the genocide- in one scene, Agathe Habyarimana (the President's widow) looks surprisingly care free as she boards a French transport plane, complete with her shades and a purse dog. Again, a tongue in cheek theatrical device meant as an example of the idiocy of the world in the face of this crime, yet one that is completely justified in the wake of the horror.

There is a lot of graphic scenes in this film, far more than was seen in "Hotel Rwanda," so if you do go, don't be surprised by the horror. If you can sit through this however, you will see one of the most important films to come along in a very long time. Seen alongside "Hotel Rwanda," the story of Rwanda deserves a final chapter that will likely never be told.

Rwanda, you see, is trying to heal and move on. The world should constantly be reminded of the lesson that these films teach.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
The failure of humanity in Rwanda, 3 October 2007

Author: fjhampson from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"We only play the movies nobody wants to see." That's what my wife and I were told by the staff at the Square one theater when we went to see "Shake Hands with the Devil" on Saturday night.

The film starts with Canadian General Romeo Dallaire in therapy for his post-traumatic stress. We are then thrown back the start of the failed United Nations mission to protect over 800,000 ethnic Tutsi's from genocide in 1994. The movie is based on General Dallaire's autobiographical account and pulls few punches. Roy Dupuis in the lead is the spitting image of Dallaire.

The General attempts to first keep peace during a fragile cease fire between the Hutu government forces and the Tutsi rebels. Later we share his frustration with the United Nations who fail to support his attempts to cease control of a situation spiraling out of control. The actions and inactions of foreign governments predominantly the French and Americans further hinder peace. The worst offender being the French who blatantly arm the people performing the slaughter then sneak the worst offenders out of the country. The Americans are let off pretty easy in this movie, appearing to be merely apathetic and nervous about being caught up in "Another African conflict" so soon after they failed dismally in Somalia. The lack of support from the rest of the international community causes the General to become more diplomat than soldier. I wonder if until this event Dallaire, now a senator, had any visions of a political life.

The movie is a graphic account without being exploitive. The slaughter is evident through scenes of countless bodies on the streets and the rivers but most of the violence is just off camera. The film is definitely an unpolished work unlike Hotel Rwanda the 2004 production which told the story of occupants of the Hotes des Mille Collines.

For the viewer who is not familiar with the conflict and Dallaire's book specifically the movie could be a little confusing especially trying to keep track of the parties involved such as differentiating the Interahamwe from the Government forces.

That was the story we saw on Saturday night. Not a great date movie, I don't think we had much of a conversation on the way home.

The words of that cleaner at the theater bothered me though. A movie "Nobody wants to see." Well isn't that appropriate since in 1994 it was a news story "Nobody wanted to hear." Just another African conflict. No oil to fight for, just people. In 1994 the top news stories were O.J. and Tonya Harding. Thankfully for us O.J. has been arrested again so we don't have to think about Darfur.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Important docudrama of UNAMIR's fateful mission in Rwanda, 12 March 2008

Author: c16031 from Montreal

I had read Dallaire's book a while back, and when I heard that there was a project to put it to film, I was very eager to see the results. Ever since I had seen "Hotel Rwanda", in which the CO of UNAMIR was a fictional character (played by Nick Nolte), I was hoping for a movie in which the real UNAMIR commander would be portrayed.

I wasn't disappointed. This film is a docu-drama that follows the events and the telling of Dallaire's book. No side stories here. Just the facts. The screen writing stuck to the book, as best as it could. Most deviations would be mistakes in interpretation, not artistic licenses. Dallaire, who had been lobbying for the film to be made for a long time, has explained that the producers have toyed with the idea of going to Hollywood to have it produced there. The upside was that the production could have enjoyed a bigger budget, but the idea was dropped because there was too big of a chance that Hollywood would have altered the story.

So the film's premise is very good to start with. The result is also very god. The the film is brilliantly made and directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Roméo Dallaire's character is very well played by Roy Dupuis, especially the scenes with the therapist. The cinematography is high quality, and some scenes are simply breathtaking (it actually makes me want to visit). The score is also of high caliber.

But the movie does have weaknesses.

It's a little too toned down. I know for having read about and seen documentaries about these events, that they were far worse than what is (could be) shown in the film. I understand that it was a delicate matter since the reality was very hard and could have steered away potential viewers. Apart from the church scene, everywhere else you are presented with toned down scenes. The reality was 10 times as big (numerous), much, much bloodier and much more akin' to a carnage. Dallaire and the other UNAMIR characters are pretty clean throughout the film. In reality, they were constantly bloodied. Don't get me wrong: I'm not seeking kicks or anything. I simply feel that the true appalling atmosphere is just not there, and that's unfair.

The civil war is not present. Although it is mentioned, and you realize that Kagame's RFP eventually wins it, the war is mostly absent from the movie. The facts are that UNAMIR operated amid civil war battles, that contributed greatly to its inefficiency. We are told that including battle scenes in the movie would have been too costly for the budget, and that the permissions from Rwanda's authorities were hard to get. Nevertheless, it's an important dimension to the story, and it's profoundly missing from the resulting atmosphere.

Some lines are just dead wrong. When asked by the CNN reporter why UNAMIR wasn't intervening to stop the carnage, Dallaire replies that he would be court martialed if he did. Although it might be the case, I understand that the real Dallaire hasn't - and would never have said anything like that. According to him, a commanding officer would never allude to the possibility of being brought up on charges, to explain his decisions and his actions.

The mission's NY headquarters. Repeatedly, Roméo Dallaire has mentioned that the film isn't true to what the mission's NY headquarters really lived . Maurice Baril, Kofie Annan (and I forget who the third member of what Dallaire called "the triumvirat", was) were much, much more stressed out than what is depicted in the movie.

The Belgian's departure. Although Dallaire was very grateful for the presence of the Belgian's paratroops among UNAMIR, he eventually grew a severe hatred for them when they left the mission, barely 2 weeks after the start of the genocide, leaving Dallaire more short staffed when he actually needed more troops. This doesn't transpire in the film. At all.

All in all, a very good film, with a good disposition for educating the people about UNAMIR's and UN's points of views during the rwandeese genocide of 1994. This was one of Roméo Dallaire's biggest wish. Now, I just hope that this movie is going to be well distributed across the world, so that everyone can have access to it, and hence fulfill it's destiny.

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0 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Great story, bad movie., 6 May 2008

Author: jocedeg from Canada

Yes, the story is very moving. But let's not confuse this terrible moment in history with what is a pretty bad film ! Roy Dupuis, yet again, shows the limits of his range. Spottiswoode's direction is puzzling: alternating between the story itself and a moment, taking place after the events, when we see Roméo Dallaire in the office of a woman (shrink) narrating a bit of the events in an awkward inner dialog that makes very little sense as far as storytelling is concerned. The movie is clumsily edited, the few special effects are uneven (you'll see when you get to the stadium scene) and it seems to go on forever.

I recommend the superior "Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold" if you want to see a touching, horrifying diary of one of the great failures of humankind.

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