The reviews are in on this new movie, filmed by Canadians, with a Canadian playing the lead role of Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of the United Nations force sent to “keep the peace” in the middle of one of the worst genocides in world history, 1994, Rwanda.
I haven’t seen it yet, but I reccommend it to you for two reasons: first, the movie “Hotel Rwanda” by the accounts of the Rwandans I have talked to, was largely fiction - kind of like “Saving Private Ryan” - it is set in a real-life war, but the events are fictional. This movie is based on Dallaire’s memoirs, and had more support from Rwandans. I know this because “Hotel Rwanda” wasn’t even filmed in Rwanda (the hotel in the picture is actually in South Africa - I know because I have been to Hotel des Mille Collines, and it looks nothing like the movie).
The second reason is because it was actually filmed in Rwanda and most of the extras are real Rwandans. I was in Rwanda last year while it was filming. A friend of mine that I made while there was an extra - he was there as a missionary but took a bit of time for fun to play the role of a Dutch soldier in the United Nations force.
I know some people don’t like downer movies, but my opinion is this - a movie like this is more important in terms of understanding reality and our times than the next “based on a true story” sexfest. You don’t need to know how Hollywood thinks people boinked in history. You do need to understand the true consequences of war, genocide, and international ambivalence.
Plus, while Dallaire sits as a Liberal senator, I still salute him for his admirable service in Rwanda. You should too.
Dalton wrote:
I look forward to it. I can’t say I “enjoyed” Peter Raymont’s documentary of the same name, but it was certainly an incredibly powerful film.
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 11:58 am | Permalink
Movies » Rwanda: “Shake Hands With the Devil†wrote:
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe reviews are in on this new movie, filmed by Canadians, with a Canadian playing the lead role of Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of the United Nations force sent to “keep the peace†in the middle of one of the worst genocides … […]
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 12:06 pm | Permalink
Lord Kitchener's Own wrote:
Also, on a more film/entertainment angle, who deosn’t love Roy Dupuis? I thought “The Rocket” was great, and while I haven’t seen “Shake Hands” yet, I’d be willing to bet Dupuis does General Dallaire justice. Deborah Unger is usually quite impressive too.
I hope this movie does well. I think it’s probably the type of high quality film we all wish there were more of!
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 1:18 pm | Permalink
Hans Rupprecht wrote:
I read the book. It tells you all about the incestuous UN and it’s fractious farce that ostensibly is protecting human rights about the world.
Like the bureaucrats on page 6 of the text:
…”there is nothing here of strategic value, there are only humans.”
If they are the help, we have no need for enemies.
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 2:03 pm | Permalink
kursk wrote:
As someone who was actually there on the ground when a lot of these incidents happened, i can tell you with some degree of certainty, that not everything you hear about the General is true, nor are his actions exactly as depicted.
Many of my fellow soldiers chafe at the mention of his name, and felt he could have done more with what he had (insofar as assets.. )in theatre.
Many of us feel his breakdown was caused by his inability to handle stress, nor delegate command decisions on his own, on which many lives could have been saved if direct action had been taken..
I cannot stress enough how painful it was to be a forced witness to Belgian paras being slaughtered, with a quick reaction team being no more than 0.5 km away..
Even as lightly armed as we were, we could have aided these men, as trained soldiers (even in small numbers) can effect the outcome of a fight even when faced by superior numbers..
This is, i feel, the number one thing that haunts the Gen..the inability to break fee of being a DND bureaucrat, a political soldier trained in the classic (for its time..) liberal mode of advancement for political ideals, rather than competent battlefield judgement..
He knew of no other mindst than to defer to bureaucrats, whether they were in Ottawa or New York..we had senior officers completely paralyzed for fear of making a career civil servant 1000’s of kms away upset(because his war stopped at 4:30 on the dot, to resume on Monday at 9:35, after the morning cup of joe whilst checking e-mails..)
It looks like being a good political soldier for the liberals has payed off handsomely for the Gen..
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 3:21 pm | Permalink
dalton wrote:
What a pity for us all you weren’t in charge, Kursk. A great loss for mankind.
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 8:03 pm | Permalink
Lance wrote:
++ kursk
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 9:07 pm | Permalink
kursk wrote:
Dalton..perhaps picking up the corpses of men hacked to death by machete wielding thugs would change your mind…
Gee,If i was in charge Dalton, it would not have happened, we would not have just drove by..your ‘biting’ sarcasm aside, if you wish to hero worship the man, feel free to do so..unfortunately, we all can’t be there when the need for decisive action arises..sometimes you have to join up..
A lot of ugliness happened in Rwanda because for too many years we employed ass licking political soldiers who were more worried about their future positions and pleasing their masters than doing what was right..
He could of intervened, it was worth a try..not just then , but in other matters as well..
Unfortunately, it is a soldiers place to take the orders you are given, whether you can stomach them or not.
A great loss for mankind ,Dalton?
No…a great loss of innocent people who died because they deserved better leadership…
Posted on 28-Sep-07 at 9:13 pm | Permalink
dalton wrote:
Oh, you misunderstand me, Kursk. I always take the word of people who post to Conservative sites, damning Liberal senators, at face value. Completely.
I absolutely believe that you were there in Rwanda, heroically twitching to take over the reins of power. I just KNOW that you would have led UNAMIR without authorization and saved the day. Absolutely.
Posted on 29-Sep-07 at 5:48 am | Permalink
Scott from Winnipeg wrote:
I read Dallaire’s book, some years ago.
I’m now trying to recall how he communicated with DPKO and Kofi, in 1993. In Africa. Email you say?
Posted on 29-Sep-07 at 1:15 pm | Permalink
Nick wrote:
Dalton you and your ilk represent all that is wrong in this country. We are a nation of hand wringers that rewards mediocrity and ineptness. In any other time or country Dallaire would have been tried for deriliction of duty. I too am a former soldier and paratrooper. I put my life on the line when I was asked. More than you can say Dalton, of course sniping from the shadows of the internet is more your style. Kursk I am in line with your sentiments and agree 100%. Of course when people like Tommy Douglas are nominated as as heroes in this county it is no wonder that cowardly generals are promoted and portrayed as the victims and no one questions it. Of course the 800 000 butchered Tutsis and the Belgian paratroopers are just statistics of no consequence.
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 8:39 am | Permalink
dalton wrote:
Yes, it’s a shame he’s Liberal, isn’t it?
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 8:56 am | Permalink
dalton wrote:
I guess we all have an inner Rambo, Nick…a part of us that wants to grab a gun, kill the bad guys, rescue the good guys, and save the world for truth, freedom and the American Way.
In the movies, that works out pretty well. The despicable commander or bureaucrats or police chief who try to restrain the Harry Callahans from doing the Right Thing are always proved wrong and skulk away, our maverick is always proven right, and accollades rain down from heaven on the just.
Funny that life doesn’t work out that way, ain’t it?
To me, one of the most horrific aspects of Dallaire’s experience was the account…not just his, but those of other and fairly critical observers…of his being forced into a dozen conflicting roles - commander, diplomat, negotiator, politician, manager, salesman, soldier, in a situation where he was bound to fail in almost every role, and, increasingly, knew it.
It’s nice to hear folks brag about how brilliantly THEY would have handled things. Let’s hope they get their chance some day.
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 9:24 am | Permalink
Nick wrote:
Interesting that you think anybody who defends their county or acts in a selfless manner is a Rambo! Not sure who is generalizing here. You sound like someone who is downplaying my contribution due to your lack of service. Also you should know that one of the aspects of being a General is to you have make tough decisions and lead. Also to accept the responsibilities of your decision. That is why they get so many perks. Limos, fancy offices, staff etc. That perhaps one day they will have to make a decision that is very dificult. The fact that Dallaire sat on his hands and did absolutely nothing while hundreds of thousands were being killed in the most brutal way imaginable speaks volumes of his inability as a leader and a general.
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 9:38 am | Permalink
dalton wrote:
“Interesting that you think anybody who defends their county or acts in a selfless manner is a Rambo!”
No, I don’t. But I think folks who dismiss the impossible complexity of General Dallaire’s position might be.
“Not sure who is generalizing here.”
Well, that would probably be the guy who said that me and my “ilk” “represent all that is wrong in this country”…a rather staggering statement to make about someone whose contribution to this country you know nothing about.
‘You sound like someone who is downplaying my contribution due to your lack of service.”
I have no idea who you are, or what you’ve actually done. I have read and seen enough to know that Dallaire did quite a bit more than “absolutely nothing” (unless several thousand Rwandans, journalists, other soldiers, historians, and of the course the General himself are all psychotic liars.) Sorry, but I’m disinclined to take the work of an anonymous poster as being more reliable than the historical record.
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 9:49 am | Permalink
Shane wrote:
I certainly respect Kursk’s words as someone who was there. I have not read the book the movie was based upon, so I cannot say with 100% certainty, but I think one of the reasons Dallaire has suffered psychologically for so long is that he realizes the same thing - in hindsight, he could have done more. Not that this is a completely apt comparison, but Oskar Schindler in the movie struggled similarly, breaking down in tears at the end saying ,”I could have done more.”
That said, I haven’t met anyone who served with Dallaire in Rwanda. However, I have visited several genocide memorials and talked with many Rwandans and they do not have the same dim view that Kursk and Dalton seem to take of his actions. As those who were perhaps in the best position to judge him, I’ll take their opinion as the most accurate. To those who survived, but lost their children, husbands, wifes and parents in the genocide, they hold Dallaire in high regard to this day for his efforts in an impossible situation. Did he make mistakes? Certainly. But it is not what he didn’t do, but what he did that people respect.
I don’t know why we must tear down anyone that is admirable, that is worthy of praise and respect in this country. We know we need heroes, we look for them but can’t find them. Why? Because we have already destroyed them, because we couldn’t stand to look up at them and have someone to live up to.
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 1:22 pm | Permalink
dalton wrote:
“and they do not have the same dim view that Kursk and Dalton seem to take of his actions.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t take a “dark” view of his actions. Sorry if I gave that impression.
What I’m saying is this. Dallaire was trying to deal with a hundred different inputs that were, in many cases, completely contradictory. And he was doing this in the dark, not knowing what wheels were turning in the background, not know the scale of the growning horror, not knowing what politics were being played at the UN and among the French, the Belgians, the Ugandans and the dozens of other parties to the growing disaster. It’s easy to grab a gun and start shooting bad guys. It’s inconceivably MORE difficult to be trying to find political, judicial, and military solutions, with an unclear mandate, no political support, and waning resources, all under the glaring light of history, and with corpses beginning to pile up in the streets around you.
Dallaire’s account of his own failings and failures was detailed, unsparing, and more specific and self-critical that anything either Kursk or Nick had to say. I just see a man caught in an impossible, irresolvable situation of pure horror, and struggling to do the best he could. Wrong decisions? Sure, probably. Back seat drivers alway have 20-20 vision, especially in hindsight.
Posted on 01-Oct-07 at 1:34 pm | Permalink
Rwanda » Blog Archives » Rwanda: “Shake Hands With the Devil†wrote:
[…] Rwanda: “Shake Hands With the Devilâ€I haven’t seen it yet, but I reccommend it to you for two reasons: first, the movie “Hotel Rwanda†by the accounts of the Rwandans I have talked to, was largely fiction - kind of like “Saving Private Ryan†- it is set in a real-life war … […]
Posted on 06-Oct-07 at 4:04 pm | Permalink
Rwanda » Blog Archives » Boehringer Ingelheim comments the nevirapine production for Rwanda wrote:
[…] Rwanda: “Shake Hands With the Devilâ€I haven’t seen it yet, but I reccommend it to you for two reasons: first, the movie “Hotel Rwanda†by the accounts of the Rwandans I have talked to, was largely fiction - kind of like “Saving Private Ryan†- it is set in a real-life war … […]
Posted on 10-Oct-07 at 3:58 am | Permalink