Shake Hands with the Devil

Name: Shake Hands with the Devil
Genre: Drama, History, War
Released: October 29, 2010
Duration: 112 min
Rating: 57

2010

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Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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Shake Hands With The Devil

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Movie Details & Credits

Regent Releasing | Release Date: October 29, 2010 | R

Summary: In 1993, the United Nations dispatches Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire to far off Rwanda to oversee a fragile cease-fire. A brilliant, workaholic officer and charismatic commander, Dallaire encounters the shabby reality of a typical UN peacekeeping operation: under-funded, overbureaucratic, and cobbled together from military units fromIn 1993, the United Nations dispatches Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire to far off Rwanda to oversee a fragile cease-fire. A brilliant, workaholic officer and charismatic commander, Dallaire encounters the shabby reality of a typical UN peacekeeping operation: under-funded, overbureaucratic, and cobbled together from military units from dozens of countries, each with a slightly different agenda. Meanwhile, the peace agreement between the rebels, led by the minority Tutsi ethnic group, and the French-supported government dominated by the Hutu majority group, turns out to rest on shaky ground. When an unknown group shoots down the Rwandan President’s plane, the storm breaks and a secret but long-planned genocidal campaign against the Tutsi minority begins with a night of terror in Kigali. A reporter remains in-country and follows General Dellaire as he is forced to deal with far-away superiors and the studied indifference of the world’s great powers while trying to take decisive action to stop the genocide of over 800,000 innocent civilians. (Regent Releasing)… Expand

Director: Roger Spottiswoode

Genre(s): Drama, History, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 112 min

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Critic Reviews

Ernest Hardy

Nov 9, 2010

Though the film, based on Dallaire's memoir, can veer toward deification of the general, it's hugely effective. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

Oct 28, 2010

A quietly powerful, incisive portrait of Canadian Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallarme (Roy Dupuis), who was sent to Rwanda in 1993 on a peacekeeping mission as the ruling Hutu attacked the rebel Tutsi, yet he was hobbled by the U.N. leadership and faced with the indifference of the world's superpowers. Read full review

Lou Lumenick

Nov 12, 2010

Compelling documentary. Read full review

Keith Uhlich

Nov 10, 2010

For everything admirable, like the way female Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana (the wonderful Gakire) resigns herself to a violent death, there's a heavy-handed metaphor-a cute gaggle of orphaned goats-ready to smack away the intelligence. Read full review

Joe Neumaier

Nov 12, 2010

Spottiswoode relays this tragic story with respect and sadness. But Michael Donovan's script is stuffed with clichés, and Dupuis is unable to convey the depth of Dallaire's emotions. Read full review

Scott Foundas

Oct 24, 2010

Spottiswoode's lackluster film fails to offer any fresh perspective on these now well-known events. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Nov 11, 2010

Filmed in Rwanda, Shake Hands With the Devil is certainly panoramic. But the best that can be said of the film is that it is an honorable dud. Read full review

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fotp

Aug 11, 2011

A more gritty take on the genocide than the widely acclaimed Hotel Rwanda, this interpretation of Shake Hands with the Devil takes you to behind the eyes of the UN general who wished to stop it all. It tells the story through his painful flashbacks and hallucinations, the style which couldA more gritty take on the genocide than the widely acclaimed Hotel Rwanda, this interpretation of Shake Hands with the Devil takes you to behind the eyes of the UN general who wished to stop it all. It tells the story through his painful flashbacks and hallucinations, the style which could not help but ring "Black Ops" to the gamer junkie I am deep down. What it fails to do is capture the real emotion of anything really. At times, I found Roy Dupuis to be a fairly unconvincing portrayal of Dallaire. Some events such as the HÃ´tel des Mille Collines incident which I can only speculate about the appearance of, do not carry the half the weight the sentimental weight that they do in many other movies. Quite honestly, I believe if a person unfamiliar with the situation were to recieve this film as a first glimpse of this slice of history, they might not understand half the impact each denial and standdown had. It does a fair job to spare us the gore of one of the atrocity that let slip. However, there is there is one particular scene which, Like Hotel Rwanda's "road of bodies" scene which jolts the reader into a sad dismal reality outside the box of hope around the protagonist, Shake Hands with the Devil has a far more cringe worthy filler of that spot. As Dallaire is hauled at a militia road block, a Tutsi woman, oblivious to the massacre going on outside, slips in a pool of blood, caking her dress in it, to arise in pure horror before being hauled away to suffer the same fate. The viewer is made to suffer that scene twice; a exemplary reminder of how hard it is for a human being to bare such reoccurring memories. If anything is conveyed here, it is the utter powerlessness of the contingent. All in all, it's a fair representation which does not convey hard hitting turns of events as it could have but it was an enjoyable time spent.… Expand

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