Shake hands with the devil

leafs4everleafs4ever Posts: 833
edited November 2008 in A Moving Train
hey guys,
i just finished watching this movie which is about the Genocide that occurred in Rwanda during 1994. It is the story of General Romeo Dallaire who led the peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during this time and showed me a lot that I did not know about this incident. It is an absolutely amazing movie that i feel everyone should watch, it is easily the best canadian made movie i've ever seen.
I really can't believe how ignorant i was to this situation. I know i was only 12 when this occurred, but i had heard about what happened but never really paid attention to it. Needless to say this movie is extremely powerful and like i said, is something that everyone should take time to watch.

Be warned that it is a very graphic movie and that Roy Dupuis who plays Dallaire truly becomes his charter so it really brings you into the movie.

I'm going to ask for the book for x-mas, i can't wait to read it.

1 question, has anyone seen Hotel Rwanda? I haven't seen it yet but after watching this movie i think i'd like to see more on this incident and i've heard great reviews of that movie.
"I'll ride the wave where it takes me"
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
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  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    leafs4ever wrote:
    hey guys,
    i just finished watching this movie which is about the Genocide that occurred in Rwanda during 1994. It is the story of General Romeo Dallaire who led the peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during this time and showed me a lot that I did not know about this incident. It is an absolutely amazing movie that i feel everyone should watch, it is easily the best canadian made movie i've ever seen.
    I really can't believe how ignorant i was to this situation. I know i was only 12 when this occurred, but i had heard about what happened but never really paid attention to it. Needless to say this movie is extremely powerful and like i said, is something that everyone should take time to watch.

    Be warned that it is a very graphic movie and that Roy Dupuis who plays Dallaire truly becomes his charter so it really brings you into the movie.

    I'm going to ask for the book for x-mas, i can't wait to read it.

    1 question, has anyone seen Hotel Rwanda? I haven't seen it yet but after watching this movie i think i'd like to see more on this incident and i've heard great reviews of that movie.

    I've seen Hotel Rwanda. It's a good film. But if you're really interested in this subject then I'd suggest you forget about movies and read this book instead:

    'We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda' - by Philip Gourevitch
    http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Inform-Tomorrow-Killed-Families/dp/0312243359/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227685454&sr=8-1
  • Thanks for the recommendation, I'll try to check this out.

    I haven't seen 'Hotel Rwanda' so I can't comment on it other than to say no one's said anything bad about it but then could anyone really do it w/o seeming insensitive?
    'and I can't imagine why you wouldn't welcome any change, my brother'

    'How a culture can forget its plan of yesterday
    and you swear it's not a trend
    it doesn't matter anyway
    there's no need to talk as friends
    nothing news everyday
    all the kids will eat it up
    if it's packaged properly'
  • leafs4ever wrote:
    hey guys,
    i just finished watching this movie which is about the Genocide that occurred in Rwanda during 1994. It is the story of General Romeo Dallaire who led the peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during this time and showed me a lot that I did not know about this incident. It is an absolutely amazing movie that i feel everyone should watch, it is easily the best canadian made movie i've ever seen.
    I really can't believe how ignorant i was to this situation. I know i was only 12 when this occurred, but i had heard about what happened but never really paid attention to it. Needless to say this movie is extremely powerful and like i said, is something that everyone should take time to watch.

    Be warned that it is a very graphic movie and that Roy Dupuis who plays Dallaire truly becomes his charter so it really brings you into the movie.

    I'm going to ask for the book for x-mas, i can't wait to read it.

    1 question, has anyone seen Hotel Rwanda? I haven't seen it yet but after watching this movie i think i'd like to see more on this incident and i've heard great reviews of that movie.

    just watched the movie this morning, finally! it is fantastic, leafs. you're so right, roy dupuis did a phenomenal job. for me, this was better than hotel rwanda.
  • I've met Lt Gen. Dallaire before and if you have the chance, go and see him speak sometime. He tours quite a bit usually campaigning for a greater Canadian presence when it comes to humanitarian interventions. Oddly enough he has a delightful sense of humour.

    I've studied the Rwandan case quite a bit and it really was a truly shocking event that didn't end in 1994. The fighting in the DRC is spillover from the genocide. It is hard to believe that 800000 people could be slaughtered in only 100 days. I can't even fathom what that would have been like and even harder to imagine what it must have been like for Rwanda to pick up the piece after such a crazy period.

    The book is fantastic.
  • Byrnzie wrote:
    I've seen Hotel Rwanda. It's a good film. But if you're really interested in this subject then I'd suggest you forget about movies and read this book instead:

    'We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda' - by Philip Gourevitch
    http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Inform-Tomorrow-Killed-Families/dp/0312243359/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227685454&sr=8-1

    thanks for the suggestion... i'll add that to the x-mas list to :)
    "I'll ride the wave where it takes me"
    09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
  • sourdough wrote:
    I've met Lt Gen. Dallaire before and if you have the chance, go and see him speak sometime. He tours quite a bit usually campaigning for a greater Canadian presence when it comes to humanitarian interventions. Oddly enough he has a delightful sense of humour.

    I've studied the Rwandan case quite a bit and it really was a truly shocking event that didn't end in 1994. The fighting in the DRC is spillover from the genocide. It is hard to believe that 800000 people could be slaughtered in only 100 days. I can't even fathom what that would have been like and even harder to imagine what it must have been like for Rwanda to pick up the piece after such a crazy period.

    The book is fantastic.
    ya i heard that it didn't end, that the congo wars are directly linked to this. What's even more scary about the 800,000 in 100 days is that it could have been stopped so early on. From what the movie portrays, they had so much evidence before everything started that it was coming. So sad that this was basically allowed to happen.
    Please send me a msg if you ever hear of him doing speakings around toronto
    "I'll ride the wave where it takes me"
    09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
  • In 94 or 95 I worked w/ a guy that was from Sierra Leone and some of the things he told me were horrible. :(
    'and I can't imagine why you wouldn't welcome any change, my brother'

    'How a culture can forget its plan of yesterday
    and you swear it's not a trend
    it doesn't matter anyway
    there's no need to talk as friends
    nothing news everyday
    all the kids will eat it up
    if it's packaged properly'
  • leafs4ever wrote:
    ya i heard that it didn't end, that the congo wars are directly linked to this. What's even more scary about the 800,000 in 100 days is that it could have been stopped so early on. From what the movie portrays, they had so much evidence before everything started that it was coming. So sad that this was basically allowed to happen.
    Please send me a msg if you ever hear of him doing speakings around toronto
    As a silver lining... Rwanda today is a very progressive and extremely well run country. I'm still kicking myself for not going to Kigali this summer (I spent the summer in Uganda only an hour away from the border) and thanks to Mr. Dallaire, CDN's can go into Rwanda w/o a visa.

    The ongoing conflict in the DRC is essentially a struggle b/w Rwandan backed Tutsi rebels who are after Hutus who fled into the DRC as the genocide ended. The French are directly responsible for facilitating the escape of their Hutu buddies.

    Normally I don't partake in the French bashing, but they have tons of blood on their hands and I wish the film had reflected this. The French helped plan, arm and train the Hutus and the first thing they did after it started was to fly out the organizer out of Rwanda and protect them. Lastly, once the Hutu fight was lost they suddenly came in with their phony "Operation Turquoise" which did nothing but protect Hutus as they disappeared into the DRC and begun a war which has cost over 5 million casualties since (the highest death toll in any conflict since WWII).

    Also, the Tutsis have also been accused of carrying out "reverse genocide" which goes largely undiscussed.
  • mertmert Posts: 167
    Byrnzie wrote:
    I've seen Hotel Rwanda. It's a good film. But if you're really interested in this subject then I'd suggest you forget about movies and read this book instead:

    'We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda' - by Philip Gourevitch
    http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Inform-Tomorrow-Killed-Families/dp/0312243359/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227685454&sr=8-1

    As far as movies go, Shake Hands With the Devil blows Hotel Rwanda out of water, and has unparalleled accuracy - the book it's based on was written by Dallaire, with the help of Major Brent Beardsley (who was his right hand man in Rwanda). Everything in the movie actually happened. Dallaire was a perfectly normal miliatary man before Rwanda, and he came back broken... Multiple suicide attempts, you name it. Thank god he's better now - the world needs people like him. One of my personal heroes.

    Beardsley also often does speaking events about Rwanda and genocide. Read the book and go to see either of them speak if you can!
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