The Devil Came on Horseback

The most important aspect about The Devil Came on Horseback is its images, simply for the unfortunate fact that no one, really, has seen anything properly documenting the brutality going on over there. There's been sporadic text every now and then, and even a picture or two; but, by and large, the waves in the press about Darfur are merely ankle busters compared to this film's tsunami of pictorials and video, displaying the absolute horror of that region of Sudan.

The film follows Brian Steidle, a man who's entire career has been military-based. He served as a USMC captain and when he would no longer see combat, he left the military and accepted a contract position in Sudan with the Joint Military Commission, where he would be an integral part of the North-South ceasefire, rising the ranks from a team leader to senior operations officer. After seven months, he was invited to Darfur, where he would serve as an unarmed military observer and American representative for the African Union in that region. This film documents his findings as an observer.

What he found was systematic ethnic-cleansing genocide. The Sudanese government was not only enabling the mass extinction of its citizens, it was controlling it. The "devil" in the title of the film are the Janjaweed, nomadic black-Arab militia groups who massacre entire villages, by exterminating its non-Arab black African inhabitants and literally burn the tribes' homes to the ground. They are "paid" in plunder and are notorious for raping their female victims, castrating their male victims and torturing them all.

The Janjaweed have been more adequately equipped and become a far greater threat since non-Arab groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, have risen up against the Sudanese government, for its mistreatment of its people. Although the government of Sudan has repeatedly denied any assistance to these barbarous raiding bandits, this film has been a breakthrough of evidence, showing quite clearly the government's involvement.

To really understand this film, however, is to understand its tragedy. No one is really doing anything about this. Even after Steidle came back and lobbied before congress in an effort to call the United States to action, his plethora of images and video were dismissed as nothing more than inconvenient casualties in another state-sponsored genocide that we're unwilling to involve ourselves in. Sure, they were acknowledged and Colin Powell called it what it was--a "genocide"--but there's still over 450,000 dead and counting, and 2.5 million displaced.

I could describe to you the images I saw--the maiming and killing of men, women and children; their eyes gouged out and their bodies burned, castrated and mutilated--and how I reacted, emotionally with tears of hopelessness and regret, when I saw this film. But instead, I think it far more powerful for you to go see this film for yourself. Then perhaps you'll want to take action and help let our government know that you want it to take active involvement in stopping this nightmare. It's not enough to talk about it and acknowledge that it's happening--we need to take active measures in preventing the perpetuation of these government sanctioned massacres.

Remember, just as you've read this review in the comfort of your own home or office or wherever, the killing in Sudan continues. And it won't stop until every last one of the non-Arab black Africans are dead, or when, and if, someone steps in and takes appropriate action to stop it.

The Devil Came on Horseback is an exceptional documentary. Darfur is a conflict long overlooked and I rented this movie with apprehension. While I am a passionate advocate for action in Darfur, I wasn't sure weather this documentary would do it any justice or just be the same old boring info. I was wrong, and blown away. I have seen some moving films, regular or documentary, but this was incredible. Not only did it map out Darfur, but it also gave us an honest, compelling 1st-person account of what happened. As soon as I saw this movie I knew that I wanted to do something. The movie gives off so many emotions of frustration and sadness, and it's time to do something. I feel proud that a man like Brian has devoted his life to Darfur. I feel so frustrated that I cannot help more, but I will do my best to help as much as possible.

10/10

This amazing film screened at the SXSW Film Festival and was extremely well-received. The film is a remarkable picture of the tragedy that is unfolding in Africa and being ignored by both America and the rest of the world. The story is told thru the eyes of former American Marine Captain, turned international monitor, Brian Steidle. Steidle is the reluctant hero drawn into the events of Darfur almost by accident. As his eyes are opened to the ugliness of what is happening in Darfur he opens our eyes as well.

The photographs are amazing and nightmarish. The tragic message is that we haven't learned from the Holocaust and more recently Rwanda is also clear and deeply haunting. This film is significantly better made than the somewhat amateurish film, although still interesting and informative, Darfur Diaries. It is filmed with both heart and skill. Steidle, who has also written a book by the same name, is the perfect guide to draw us out of our apathy and into the heart of this deep unfolding tragedy. His palpable feeling of anger and helplessness as he watches genocide is palpable and heart-breaking.

The film is also an indictment of the failure of the US and other Western governments to act to address this humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding now for 4 years. The U.S. has called these events "genocide," but has done nothing substantive to provide for a UN peacekeeping force to address the tragedy.

This is the type of film that must be widely scene if Americans are to awaken from their slumber and respond to this horror of murder, rape, massacre, slaughter, and dislocation that is being committed by Sudan's government against its own citizens. Perhaps there is still a chance to save even more people from dying if Americans are willing to pay attention to what is happening. I hope that Americans take the time to see this important and compelling film about the greatest tragedy of our times.

A very eye opening and hard hitting experience viewing this film. I do feel that it falls short on delivering the back story and facts to truly understand exactly what is going on and why in this region. To my benefit I had already seen the film Darfur Now which does a way better job describing the where's, what's and why's of this hole situation. Darfur Now doesn't have anything close to the experiences and the photographs taken by Brian Steidle. Basically what I'm saying is that watching both these films together will give you the complete picture of this tragedy. A couple of things Brian Steidle said in this film really hit me hard, first when he described his feeling about taking pictures from the hill top over looking a village and hes says if I would have had my rifle instead of my camera I could have prevented the deaths of so many people. I can't imagine what it would feel like to have that kind of training and then be put in a situation were you can't us it to help. Second when he is speaking in front of the Darfur rally in Washington D.C. and he describes first landing in Darfur and being introduced as an American and the people all standing up and cheering. This is just one man, yet they cheer, why, because he is American, because to these people an American means hope. Wow, I could not hold back the tears, after all the latest bashing of America and our current foreign police issues, don't get me wrong we have really screwed some things up, but there are people in the world that see America as a shining ray of light. Sometimes I think the media forgets to report on all the good we do as a country, just to think that when things go bad in the world who does the world call for.

When he finished in the field with the US Marines, Captain Brian Steidle turns away from a desk job on his way up the ranks and instead takes a job as a military observer of the ceasefire in Sudan. The access he is able to have within the country ultimately leads him to be in no doubt that he is seeing Government-backed genocide against the African citizens of Darfur. With no weapon but his reports and his photographs, Steidle charts all that he sees in villages razed to the ground. This film charts his growing frustration at the lack of movement that this approach seems to create.

Normally I would criticise those who praise a film for its subject rather than judge it on the basis of the film itself. Normally this film would be one of those and on these terms I would not be as kind to it as it really deserves. The reasons for this are clear from watching the film because really it could have been better structured and delivered. I thought the film would use Steidle as a device to explore the subject but somehow it tends to make him the subject too many times for my liking. This is a niggling irritation and it is not helped that the delivery of the subject is structured around his experiences – which is not always the most effective way of doing it because it does not build the case in the manner that would be most impacting and informative.

Having said that though, it is difficult to watch the film and not be moved and sickened because of the subject and because most viewers will have seen so little of what is happening in Darfur. The photographs are disturbing and graphic. Whether it be charred remains or humans with eyes gouged out, it is not easy to sit and watch without reaction. The lack of intervention is also difficult to watch and this is the one aspect that the focus on Steidle contributes to well because he feels the frustration firsthand.

Overall then this is a compelling and sickening film but it is nearly despite the film, not because of it. The structure is not strong enough and the focus on Steidle distracts and detracts as much as it adds – it should have used him more as a way in rather than the centrepiece of the film but these are minor complaints versus the shocking truths that the film puts in front of us. The images are sickening, so is the lack of action and the exposure the film gives to the subject is worthy of praise and makes this worth seeing even if it could have been better.