Most people seem to know something bad happened in Rwanda in 1994. The title those people are likely more familiar with, "Hotel Rwanda," depicted the story, with some liberties of course, of a Hutu hotel manager who managed to save over 1,000 people from what would've been certain death by using bribes and his connections. In light of that film, "Shake Hands with the Devil" would almost seem a second film in a trilogy about the horrors of Rwanda.
The film, based on the award winning book by General Romeo Dallaire, is based around the experience of the "Peacekeepers" when all hell broke loose in 1994. The book, and by proxy the film, are much more harrowing accounts than was "Hotel Rwanda" because the film takes no major liberties with the story.
As General Dallaire is in counseling, he recounts his days with UNAMIR, first in New York meeting with those who would give him direction in the mission, and then in Rwanda itself. A beautiful country he calls it, though the subtle signs about the country predict a troubling future.
As the story progresses, he comes face to face with some of the ugly in the country- from the Prime Minister telling him that she and her family were beaten while the Gendarmes (a type of police) waited outside to ensure no help was coming, to the murder of six children deep in the Hutu heartland, to finally a warning by the rebel General Paul Kagame warning that something bad is coming that no one will be able to stop once it comes. Suspicion is further confirmed when an informer with the Interahamwe (Hutu militia, who are largely accused of carrying out the genocide) providing evidence of the planning- large cache's of weapons.
At every turn, Dallaire is frustrated by the lack of resolve on the part of his bureaucratic masters in New York, who constantly tell him to take no action.
Then one night, the President's plane crashes in Kigali, and the Presidential Guard goes crazy. To this day, one of the mysteries is who shot down Juvenal Habyarimana's plane, but this is not addressed in this film because one of the handicaps that the Peacekeepers faced was being prevented from carrying out an investigation.
From there, the country explodes into a genocide that, for the sheer number of victims over a 100 day period, stands alone as the most savage act ever witnessed by humanity. And on this, the film really works superbly.
Dallaire is ordered not to fire unless fired upon, so when the Belgian and Ghanian troops guarding the Prime Minister are confronted, they have no choice but to hand over their weapons. The Ghanians are beaten, while the Belgians are executed by the allegedly rogue Presidential Guard. Indeed, in the first days, most of the high profile Hutu moderates are also summarily assassinated while Dallaire can do nothing but watch.
Of course, he also has to bare witness to slaughter of the innocents as he tirelessly puts forth suggestion after suggestion on how to stop the bloodbath, and his political masters in New York time and time again fail to support him. Ultimately, as the film shows, it takes a toll on Dallaire himself.
In one of the most tongue in cheek examples of futility, Dallaire is armed in almost the entire film, but the only time he fires his gun, it is to save three goats he's purchased from the hungry dogs that are trying to eat them. It is a theatrical device of course, but it is one that was worthy of being included because what the world turned its back on was so absurd to begin with.
"Acts of genocide" but not actually genocide. Eighteen dead Rangers prevented help for roughly 800,000 victims. A French rescue mission for ex-pats which also rescued some of the perpetrators of the genocide- in one scene, Agathe Habyarimana (the President's widow) looks surprisingly care free as she boards a French transport plane, complete with her shades and a purse dog. Again, a tongue in cheek theatrical device meant as an example of the idiocy of the world in the face of this crime, yet one that is completely justified in the wake of the horror.
There is a lot of graphic scenes in this film, far more than was seen in "Hotel Rwanda," so if you do go, don't be surprised by the horror. If you can sit through this however, you will see one of the most important films to come along in a very long time. Seen alongside "Hotel Rwanda," the story of Rwanda deserves a final chapter that will likely never be told.
Rwanda, you see, is trying to heal and move on. The world should constantly be reminded of the lesson that these films teach.
The film, based on the award winning book by General Romeo Dallaire, is based around the experience of the "Peacekeepers" when all hell broke loose in 1994. The book, and by proxy the film, are much more harrowing accounts than was "Hotel Rwanda" because the film takes no major liberties with the story.
As General Dallaire is in counseling, he recounts his days with UNAMIR, first in New York meeting with those who would give him direction in the mission, and then in Rwanda itself. A beautiful country he calls it, though the subtle signs about the country predict a troubling future.
As the story progresses, he comes face to face with some of the ugly in the country- from the Prime Minister telling him that she and her family were beaten while the Gendarmes (a type of police) waited outside to ensure no help was coming, to the murder of six children deep in the Hutu heartland, to finally a warning by the rebel General Paul Kagame warning that something bad is coming that no one will be able to stop once it comes. Suspicion is further confirmed when an informer with the Interahamwe (Hutu militia, who are largely accused of carrying out the genocide) providing evidence of the planning- large cache's of weapons.
At every turn, Dallaire is frustrated by the lack of resolve on the part of his bureaucratic masters in New York, who constantly tell him to take no action.
Then one night, the President's plane crashes in Kigali, and the Presidential Guard goes crazy. To this day, one of the mysteries is who shot down Juvenal Habyarimana's plane, but this is not addressed in this film because one of the handicaps that the Peacekeepers faced was being prevented from carrying out an investigation.
From there, the country explodes into a genocide that, for the sheer number of victims over a 100 day period, stands alone as the most savage act ever witnessed by humanity. And on this, the film really works superbly.
Dallaire is ordered not to fire unless fired upon, so when the Belgian and Ghanian troops guarding the Prime Minister are confronted, they have no choice but to hand over their weapons. The Ghanians are beaten, while the Belgians are executed by the allegedly rogue Presidential Guard. Indeed, in the first days, most of the high profile Hutu moderates are also summarily assassinated while Dallaire can do nothing but watch.
Of course, he also has to bare witness to slaughter of the innocents as he tirelessly puts forth suggestion after suggestion on how to stop the bloodbath, and his political masters in New York time and time again fail to support him. Ultimately, as the film shows, it takes a toll on Dallaire himself.
In one of the most tongue in cheek examples of futility, Dallaire is armed in almost the entire film, but the only time he fires his gun, it is to save three goats he's purchased from the hungry dogs that are trying to eat them. It is a theatrical device of course, but it is one that was worthy of being included because what the world turned its back on was so absurd to begin with.
"Acts of genocide" but not actually genocide. Eighteen dead Rangers prevented help for roughly 800,000 victims. A French rescue mission for ex-pats which also rescued some of the perpetrators of the genocide- in one scene, Agathe Habyarimana (the President's widow) looks surprisingly care free as she boards a French transport plane, complete with her shades and a purse dog. Again, a tongue in cheek theatrical device meant as an example of the idiocy of the world in the face of this crime, yet one that is completely justified in the wake of the horror.
There is a lot of graphic scenes in this film, far more than was seen in "Hotel Rwanda," so if you do go, don't be surprised by the horror. If you can sit through this however, you will see one of the most important films to come along in a very long time. Seen alongside "Hotel Rwanda," the story of Rwanda deserves a final chapter that will likely never be told.
Rwanda, you see, is trying to heal and move on. The world should constantly be reminded of the lesson that these films teach.