FILM-FORWARD.COM

Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video

Lt. General Romeo Dallaire at 
Bisesero Genocide Memorial, Rwanda
Photo: Peter Bregg/Maclean's

SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: THE JOURNEY OF ROMÉO DALLAIRE
Directed by: Peter Raymont.
Produced by: Peter Raymont & Lindalee Tracey.
Based on the memoirs of Roméo Dallaire.
Director of Photography: John Westheuser.
Edited by: Michèle Hozer.
Music by: Mark Korven.
Released by: California Newsreel.
Language: English. Country of Origin: Canada/Rwanda. 91 min. Not Rated.

In 1993, the United Nations sent Canadian General Roméo Dallaire to Rwanda to lead a barebones force, whose mission was to guard the peace between the country's two rival ethnic groups, the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority. (Nick Nolte played the tough U.N. colonel loosely based on Dallaire in the recent film Hotel Rwanda.) The general filed repeated reports warning of a possible massacre by Hutu militias, but the U.N. and the international community failed to respond. Eventually 800,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsi, were killed. Dallaire resigned his position, haunted by the images of the dead. Since his return to civilian life, the guilt-stricken Dallaire has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and attempted suicide twice. Now 10 years later, he returns to Rwanda with his wife in search of peace.

Director Peter Raymont follows Dallaire from his former office in the Kigali U.N. headquarters to Amahoro Stadium, where he helplessly witnessed thousands of refugees starve to death. Dallaire tentatively explores his surroundings, first just peering from windows of taxis and private cars, and then immersing himself in visits to local communities, churches and graves. Raymont tracks his progression almost like a therapist, giving Dallaire the time and space needed to revisit the past.

The documentary's hazy news footage of the escalating violence and grotesque images of killings and death, coupled with interviews from Dallaire's colleagues and historians, leave viewers with a sense of frustration and despair over the impending chaos. A powerful film, Shake Hands with the Devil is not only about the Rwandan genocide, but also a story of compassion and the possibility of hope and healing. Deborah Lynn Blumberg
May 18, 2005

Home

About Film-Forward.com

Archive of Previous Reviews

Film-Forward.com, 180 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012 - Contact us