Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire

This film reaffirms why documentary film making is so important. Documentaries don't simply tell a story; they tell a real story, a human story. Documentaries help to shed light on human triumphs and human tragedies, both of which are evident in this gripping film directed by Peter Raymont.

The tragedy, of course, was that nearly 1 million Rwandans were killed and slaughtered in a senseless act of genocide. What adds to the tragedy is that the "civilized" world could have easily stopped this from happening, if they only cared. The film displays how the U.N. and individual countries alike not only failed to help the innocent Rwandan people, but in many ways they contributed to the genocide that happened by creating some of the ethnic stigmas that existed in the country.

Yet amongst all of this carnage and horror there did remain some good people who tried to help the Rwandan's. General Romeo Dallaire, commander of the UN forces in Rwanda, was one of these people. Perhaps no one else in Rwanda did as much to save people as did Mr. Dallaire. Even though he was betrayed by the UN and ignored by the rest of the world, he emerged from this terrible situation as a hero.

I believe the ultimate message of this film is that the leading countries of the world and their citizens must learn from human tragedies like Rwanda so that we can take action to prevent such atrocities from happening again. Unfourtunately, with situations such as the one in Darfur, it seems like this message is not being heard. An important film that must be seen by all and a shining example of documentary film making. 10/10.

I just returned from the Sundance film Festival where I saw Shake Hands with the Devil. This documentary must be seen for many reasons. It is a history lesson for those who missed the tragedy of the Rowandan genocide. It asks the question: why do we value one human life above another? It tells the story of the courage and conviction of Romeo Dallaire; qualities he possesses to an extent that surpasses what most of us can only imagine. After the screening I attended, the audience was left speechless and was slow to applaud. We all sat in our seats numbed by what we just seen - that human life can have no value on a world wide basis. Please see this outstanding documentary.

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.

In 1994 General Dallaire was given command of a small peacekeeping operation from the UN in the central African country of Rwanda. When the Hutus started killing the Tutsis population the UN evacuated the westerners but essentially left the country to take care of itself – with only Dallaire's small and underfunded group of men left against a tidal wave of violence that left about 800,000 dead. As the west sat transfixed by the OJ trial, Dallaire struggled to get the word out and get the world to respond. Ten years later, he returns to Rwanda to remember.

Having been gutted by Hotel Rwanda I felt ashamed that I knew very little about the genocide and decided to watch this documentary to provide more insight than HR did. Although this film is more interested in Dallaire than in the actual genocides it still is educational, interesting and impacting. We follow Dallaire as he returns to the country and recollects the events of a decade ago, memories that are backed up with some sickening archive footage of bodies and murder. It doesn't really shock or emotionally involve that well in that regard though – compared to the narrative structure of HR this seems a bit distant, a fact not helped by the "looking back" delivery. However the film is still impacting because it focuses more on the west and the failure to act, with Dallaire lost in the middle of the chaos. The film does this well and it is very clear where the blame lies and how insincere the world was and still is – Clinton's visit and assurances that he didn't appreciate how bad things were at the time made me angry and frustrated.

As our eyes Dallaire is very interesting. He is long past tears so he doesn't move us by breaking down but by being honest and talking. The things he recalls seeing are horrific, although just as engaging is his own pain and suffering – his frustrations, his fears and his anger. I'm sure some viewers will not warm to him because he doesn't look emotional but his story makes up for it. The film gives him a bit of an easy ride in some regards, not pushing him when he says that he had no mandate etc, but even those who feel he is the figurehead for failure will acknowledge that he did stay when he could easily have left like everyone else.

Overall this is a hard film to judge because the subject matter means it easily engages and is moving. Some viewers may find it a bit cold compared to the emotional ride of Hotel Rwanda but it is no less for it, in fact it makes for a more detailed and open presentation that is consistently interesting and moving.

As someone who has studied the Rwandan civil war and genocide in depth, I would recommend this documentary for providing some important background that is not readily available elsewhere in the film and literature about the genocide. The events of 1993 and early 1994 immediately leading up to the outbreak of killing, are often not presented well. Here we see General Dallaire's return visits to UN installations and places where he tried to carry out his initial mission to implement the Arusha Peace Accords of '93, important pieces of the puzzle. This alone makes the film worth seeing for anyone interested in how the genocide came to happen. There is also a visit to the memorial at Bisesero, an important but lesser known locale during the genocide where Tutsi were able to resist for a long time. While the "Ghosts of Rwanda" Frontline film remains the definitive documentary about the genocide, this movie adds some valuable details.

However, the film also uncomfortably at times seemed like a promotional project or hagiography for Dallaire and his friends and colleagues rather than a truly thoughtful documentary examination of one embattled and psychically wounded commander's experiences in trying to uphold an impossible mission. Part of the "problem" is that Dallaire is clearly a determined personality (and was in 1994) and speaks pretty eloquently for himself, but we also need to "see" more cinematically and not just hear people reciting how wronged he was. We needed less talking heads and more on-the-ground footage. (Although the 1994 footage is horrific enough) The film does not exactly take a dispassionate editorial tone... it's savagely condemning of both the UN and the Belgians in particular. (Warning, don't watch this movie if you're Belgian.)

Clearly, Dallaire was a fall guy for massive UN incompetence and immoral world indifference, who deserves to have his story told. I just think it could have been told much better in documentary form.