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Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, Romeo Dallaire

In 1994, long-simmering civil unrest in the African nation of Rwanda -- where ruling officials belonging to the Hutu group were challenged by the Tutsi-led Rwandese Patriotic Front -- was threatening ... read more read more...to erupt into widespread violence when the United Nations sent a peace-keeping force to the nation, which was ordered to enforce a treaty that would halt the fighting between the two factions. However, when it quickly became obvious that the treaty was, for practical purposes, a sham, Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian leader of the UN's 800-man peace-keeping force, learned his troops were all but powerless to do anything to help. Failed actions in Somalia and Yugoslavia had made the United Nations wary of becoming too deeply involved in Rwanda, and as Dallaire and his men begged for additional troops and materiel to deal with the growing crisis (and the authority to clean out weapons caches the Rwandese Patriotic Front had assembled), they found themselves foiled on every turn. The world's major military powers saw no financial or political advantage to getting involved in the crisis in Rwanda, so they refused to help, and as a result, 800,000 Rwandans were slaughtered. Dallaire regarded this as a predictable and preventable act of genocide executed by the Hutu-controlled government against Hutu oppositionists and Tutsis...a massacre he could only watch without being able to help. Nearly ten years after the tragedy in Rwanda, Dallaire returned to the nation to see what was left of the country he tried to protect; Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire is a documentary which follows him as he discusses the massacre of Rwanda, what could have been done, and how the horrific experience has changed his life. The genocide in Rwanda also provides the basis for the acclaimed dramatic feature Hotel Rwanda (2004), in which a fictional character based on Roméo Dallaire is played by Nick Nolte. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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90% liked it

1,196 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

49 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Peter Raymont

Release Date: April 2, 2005

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DVD Release Date: November 24, 2009

Stats: 149 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (149)

  • gator681
    May 31, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Shake Hands with the Devil" is a documentary about Romeo Dallaire, who was the commander of the United Nations forces in 1994 in Rwanda as he tried unsuccessfully to prevent the genocide with an underfunded and undermanned mission. Dallaire, whose hands wer... read moree tied, still acted in the behavior and manner of a professional soldier while saving lives. Afterwards, he suffered mental anguish, by wondering if there was anything more he could have done. The lesson of the movie is that a life is worth saving no matter where they live and that we all have a responsibility to stop this.(And it may be happening again in the Darfur region of Sudan...) [/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Shake Hands with the Devil" traces the origins of this genocide back to before 1960 when Rwanda was a colonial possession of Belgium and how those colonialist and racist attitudes fueled the racist hatred. Plus, it explains that this could have been stopped, not only by a better commitment to United Nations forces but also simply by the world's powers taking a stand.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Shake Hands with the Devil" is an emotionally, powerful documentary. This is absolutely necessary viewing.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=red]"Moolaade" is a movie from Africa directed by Ousmene Sembene. Six young girls escape to avoid Purification(or to be much less delicate - genital mutilation). Four wind up going to Colle because they have heard that she prohibited her daughter from undergoing the ceremony, even though this was frowned upon by the village elders and might affect her daughter adversely. Colle invokes Moolaade(protection) for the girls. Colle has her reasons for being against the ceremony of Purification. She suffered through the ceremony. Her first two babies were born dead; the third lived but it was a messy affair.[/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]"Moolaade" is an intelligent, thoughtful movie about gender roles set in an African village. The only major point against this movie is that it ended on a particularly false note.[/color][/font]

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
September 2, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

A flat-lined, pedestrian affair, a talking-heads/ touring-heads piece that seems to point the camera in the wrong direction. Full Review

Chris Vognar
September 2, 2005
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

A personalized, historically charged travelogue that speaks to a massive tragedy's impact on one man. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
July 8, 2005
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

In a way, Shake Hands With the Devil puts the best of Western conscience on display -- and it's not a pretty sight.

Michael Booth
July 8, 2005
Michael Booth, Denver Post

We never get a satisfying re-creation of the events for which Dallaire now suffers. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
June 17, 2005
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Poses an essential question: How can you shame an international community that, even now, seems constitutionally incapable of it? Full Review

Desson Thomson
June 16, 2005
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Raymont's film, with Dallaire as the main voice and news footage from 1994, lays out a compelling, compact story. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
June 11, 2005
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

The filmmakers follow this compassionate and articulate man as returns to Rwanda a decade later to revisit his demons.

Frank Scheck
June 9, 2005
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

A fascinating account of its subject's self-torture over his inability to stop one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies.

Kenneth Turan
June 2, 2005
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Dallaire is not only the protagonist of Shake Hands, he is a compelling reason to see it. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
May 20, 2005
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

His story is worth telling, and worth remembering for what it tells us about the West's brutal disinterest in Africa, and the United Nations' inability to do even its most basic job of keeping the peace. Full Review

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