"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.
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.