Shake Hands with the Devil (2007)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers:

Roméo Dallaire (book)
Michael Donovan (writer)

Release Date:

28 September 2007 (Canada)

Genre:

History

Plot:

A film adaptation of the Romeo Dallaire autobiography Shake Hands with the Devil.

Plot Keywords:

Violence | United Nations | Rwanda | Genocide | Betrayal

Awards:

7 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Roy Dupuis	...	General Romeo Dallaire
Owen Sejake	...	Ghanian General Henry Anyidoho (as Owen Lebakeng Sejake)
James Gallanders	...	Major Brent Beardsley
Michel Mongeau	...	Luc Marchal
Robert Lalonde	...	Général Maurice Baril
John Sibi-Okumu	...	Booh-Booh
Akin Omotoso	...	Paul Kagame
Tom McCamus	...	Phil Lancaster
John Matshikiza	...	President Habyarimana
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Bernard Kouchner
Strini Pillai	...	Bangladeshi Commander
Craig Hourqueble	...	Willem
Kenneth Khambula	...	Major Kamenzi
Patrice Faye	...	Colonel Poncet
Chris Thorne	...	American Ambassador

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:18A | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Barna-Alper Productions

Trivia:

The ribbon bars of Dallaire's medals worn by Roy Dupuis in this film are the actual ones worn by Roméo Dallaire during the time period depicted in this film. They were loaned to Dupuis by Dallaire during for the film's production.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the international news report on the massacres, the modern Rwandan flag is depicted on the screen, which wasn't introduced until 2001, whereas the news report was from 1993, during the massacre.

Quotes:

General Romeo Dallaire: We're going to stay to bear witness to what the rest of the world doesn't want to see.

Great story, bad movie.

Yes, the story is very moving. But let's not confuse this terrible moment in history with what is a pretty bad film ! Roy Dupuis, yet again, shows the limits of his range. Spottiswoode's direction is puzzling: alternating between the story itself and a moment, taking place after the events, when we see Roméo Dallaire in the office of a woman (shrink) narrating a bit of the events in an awkward inner dialog that makes very little sense as far as storytelling is concerned. The movie is clumsily edited, the few special effects are uneven (you'll see when you get to the stadium scene) and it seems to go on forever.

I recommend the superior "Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold" if you want to see a touching, horrifying diary of one of the great failures of humankind.