Shake Hands with the Devil (2007)
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55% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
87% of users liked it
(4,196 ratings)
Director Roger Spottiswoode brings a very special film realization of the acclaimed best-seller by General Roméo Dallaire to the screen in "Shake Hands with the Devil," the story of a Canadian commander torn between his duty and his conscience when he finds himself eyewitness to hell on… More Director Roger Spottiswoode brings a very special film realization of the acclaimed best-seller by General Roméo Dallaire to the screen in "Shake Hands with the Devil," the story of a Canadian commander torn between his duty and his conscience when he finds himself eyewitness to hell on Earth. In 1993, the United Nations dispatches Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (Roy Dupuis) 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 (Deborah Unger) 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
- Directed By
- Roger Spottiswoode
- Genres
- Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Oct 29, 2010 Limited
- On DVD
- Jan 11, 2011
- Studio
- Regent Releasing/here! Films
Critic Reviews
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
The best that can be said of the film is that it is an honorable dud.
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Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
Dallaire's stalwart stoicism offsets the horrors on display, which are filmed with expectedly solemn slickness.
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Ernest Hardy, Village Voice
Though the film, based on Dallaire's memoir, can veer toward deification of the general, it's hugely effective in illustrating the grotesque power plays that led to the deaths of more than 800,000 Tutsis.
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Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Gets [close] to the heart of the matter.
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Scott Foundas, Variety
[Director] Spottiswoode's lackluster film fails to offer any fresh perspective on these now well-known events.
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Cast
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Roy Dupuis
as Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire
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Deborah Kara Unger
as Emma
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James Gallanders
as Maj. Brent Beardsley
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Jean-Hugues Anglade
as Bernard Kouchner
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Odile Katesi Gakire
as Agathe
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Owen Sejake
as Ghanian Gen. Henry Anyidoho
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Michel Mongeau
as Luc Marchal
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Tom McCamus
as Phil Lancaster
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Remy Nsanga
as Maggen
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Michel Ange Nzojibwami
as Col. Bagosora
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John Sibi-Okumu
as Booh-Booh
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Daniel Janks
as Troute
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Craig Hourqueie
as Willem/Robert
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Akin Omotoso
as Paul Kagame
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John Matchikiza
as Habyarimana
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Intore Masamba
as Marcel
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Lena Slachmuijilder
as Odette
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Alex Kamanzi
as Jean-Pierre
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Chris Torne
as Ambassador Rawson
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Patrice Faye
as Col. Poncet
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Stephen Backingam
as British Ambassador
