J'ai serré la main du diable

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.

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.

This docudrama covers similar territory and the same event as Hotel Rwanda, being the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1993. The movie focuses on Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (briefly portrayed by Nick Nolte in Hotel Rwanda), sent to Kigali, Rwanada to command a U.N peacekeeping mission. The U.N was overseeing a tenuous cease-fire between two feuding Rwandan ethnic groups, the Hutu majority and the Tusti minority. Ultimately the situation ends up failing and breaking out into violence under his watch.

The movie documents Roméo Dallaire's frustration with the U.N and subsequent guilt by refusing to get involved with what was going on and failing to stop the Rwandan genocide that he was witnessing.

I never heard of the the lead actor, Roy Dupuis, before watching the movie. He's very good in the lead role.

The docudrama took the time to explain what was happening on screen point by point in great detail which helped minimize confusion and clarify a lot of things.

In the end of 1993, the Canadian General Romeo Dallaire (Roy Dupuis) is assigned to lead the United Nation troops in Rwanda. In 1994, when the genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus begins, General Dallaire gives his best effort to help the poor black people in Rwanda, inclusive negotiating with the Tutsi rebels, the Hutu army and the Interhamwe militia. However, he fights against bureaucracy and lack of interest from the United Nations and witnesses the West World ignoring and turning back any sort of support, inclusive USA opposing in the security council of UN to any type of help.

The story of the genocide in Rwanda was first seen in the cinema through the magnificent "Hotel Rwanda" (2004), telling the life of Paul Rusesabagina, one anonymous hero and manager of the Milles Collines Hotel of Kigali; then, in "Shooting Dogs" (2005) that tells the story of the Catholic priest Christopher and the idealistic English teacher Joe Connor; then in "Un Dimanche à Kigali" (2006) focused in the romance of a Canadian journalist and a Tutsi waitress. Now these movies are complemented by the less emotive "Shake Hands with the Devil" that tells the same story, but now through the eyes and heart of the Canadian General Romeo Dallaire trapped in the indifference of the UN. It is amazing the line of General Dallaire when he says that for the UN, "genocide is when there are cargo trains, concentration camps, and gas chambers". I imagine how frustrated this general might have been seeing the slaughter of defenseless human beings having to follows bureaucratic and political orders from his superiors. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "História de um Massacre" ("History of a Massacre")

i thought this was was a well done film based on the autobiography of Canadian General Romeo Dallaire,who was tasked with the job of leading UN peacekeeping efforts in Rwanda,in what should have been a routine mission,until civil war breaks out.while the rest of the world turns its back,Dallaire does what he can to save as many innocents as he can while war wages on.the movie show how the ludicrousness of bureaucracy,as well as how cruel and unkind(not to mention hypocritical)our western world can be.this is not a movie i would say is enjoyable,given its subject matter.it is quite graphic and bleak.but is well made and the acting is is superb.for me,Shake Hands With The Devil is an 8/10