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.
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Village VoiceErnest Hardy
Village VoiceErnest Hardy
Though the film, based on Dallaire's memoir, can veer toward deification of the general, it's hugely effective.
Back in Canada, Dallaire tells a psychiatrist that he remembers Rwanda in flashbacks that are "not like memories at all." Shake Hands with the Devil captures something of that sensation; it's a depiction of events that are too painful to remember, too essential to forget.
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New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
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.
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.
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VarietyScott Foundas
VarietyScott Foundas
Spottiswoode's lackluster film fails to offer any fresh perspective on these now well-known events.