Arts & Entertainment

 

 

“Shake Hands With the Devil”
Not Typical Hollywood Fare

By Duncan DeLorenzi

begin to understand how such a “failure © a suspicious airplane crash at the Kigali outside help, realizing that Rwanda is

of humanity” took place. airport and one of the government’s a country in the midst of not just the
When peacekeepers are sent into the acting military leaders, Colonel outbreak of civil war but something
former Belgian colony with the intent of | Bagosora, tries to assume control. even more sinister. The killing
maintaining peace between the minority General Dallaire’s attempts.to maintain continues and civilians flee by the
Tutsi and the majority Hutu it quickly peace and order are thwarted not only thousands, finding temporary safety
becomes apparent just how understaffed —_ by rebellious military commanders inside Kigali’s Amohoro Stadium
UNAMIR is, and how little authority and extremist militia groups but by his as well as some of the city’s hotels.
Dallaire has been given by his UN own superiors at the UN as well. His Meanwhile, the UN officially ends
superiors. Soon mandate soon the mission and calls back all of the
after arriving, ‘6 ° ° becomes clear: peacekeeping troops, including Dallaire
Dallaire is T t AY har d to b e lie V@ heand his troops _ himself. Pisoni ne the mission’s
alerted to the are not to take Force Commander, General Dallaire

discovery of t hat t his is not just sides and above _ disobeys this command and with a

 

several dead all they are not handful of willing volunteers remains
Tutsis found to use force to behind to try to do what he can to
throughout the some H olly wood settle disputes. protect the lives of civilians.
region of the ® They are not While watching the atrocity of
capital city flic k 9 the Ss e e@ ve nts to become genocide progress onscreen, it is hard
Kigali. Brutally : ” militarily to believe that this is not just some
murdered, engaged with Hollywood flick, that these events
the corpses actually did occur. any of the actually did occur, that some 800,000
are damning belligerents human beings were brutally murdered
EF : _ evidence that a crisis is brewing. When _and their firearms are to be used for in the span of 100 days. And it is even
rench-Canadian actor Roy Dupuis an informant reveals photographic self-defense only. As the mass killing harder to believe that this occurred not
bears a striking resemblance to retired —_ evidence of secretly stashed weapons, of Tutsi’s begins Dallaire is restricted long ago, well within this generation’s
Canadian Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire wastes no time in acting on even further by a loss of some of his lifetime. This is the true story of a
Dallaire in the film Shake Hands his suspicions. However, no sooner has _ troops. The bodies of ten Belgian courageous man who, when the rest of
With The Devil, which is based on he made orders to unravel the obvious peacekeepers are found, slaughtered the world abandoned a country during
Dallaire’s memoir of the same title. _ plans for an ambush when he receives and dumped in a heap. This prompts the __its most dire time of need, acted against
The film depicts events of the genocide _ instructions from the United Nations country of Belgium to withdraw their authority and under the guidance of his
that took place in the small African Peacekeeping Headquarters in New peacekeeping troops, immediately and own sense of humanity to do what he
country of Rwanda in the spring of York to ignore the pictures, and to carry substantially reducing the mission’s could to preserve life.
1994. Dallaire’s helplessness and | on business as usual. manpower. A disturbing but must-see film.
frustration as the leader of the United Not long after this, the President of Dallaire appeals repeatedly to his

Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda
(UNAMIR) is clearly revealed as we

“Untitled” by Interpol

Song of the Week

Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, diesin superiors at the UN for some form of

 

 

By Pat MacKenzie
Division, the song proceeds like the
Peas not necessarily arc of a modernist short story without
creepy —but certainly haunting and a plot. At its beginning, the guitars
atmospheric—“Untitled” by New York sound like distant, echoing chimes that
art-rockers Interpol is found on their become subtly louder before drums
2002 debut, Turn on the Bright Lights. and bass drop into the song providing
It’s a track that can fit on any playlist a droning and corrosive groove. As
featuring songs obsessed with the “Untitled” progresses, the guitars come
gathering darkness of late October (or to the listener in shimmering cascades
any dark time of the year) and all that that alter between the aforementioned
that suggests. ring of chimes and the deeper resonance
Interpol is essentially a guitar-based Of church bells. Paul Banks vocals
rock band (is there any other kind?), = minimal, but they provide a gentle
but unlike so many current mainstream distinction to the almost overbearing,
bands operating in a post-Nirvana bass-heavy, character of the surrounding }
mode, where the listener knows he or music. ‘ Pes
she is listening'to an electric guitar, It’s possible to dance to this song by
with Interpol, guitars are used more yourself, but it’s easier with someone
as textures or as layers in an overall you like or love. In fact, because of
soundscape. the words, “Untitled” sounds like a around/ oh, I’ll surprise you sometime/ _ rest of the song, stand as a simple
And “Untitled” is as soundscapy, love _— Like the — arrangement, —_|’!| come around when you're down.” reminder of the power of basic human
(is that even a word?) as modern rock Banks’ words are few; Roweves, they Despite the inherent heaviness of contact— something we can all stand
songs come. Slow, moody and filled are direct in sheir meaning: “snaprise, the music, the words of “Untitled,” * a little of in these, the dark days of
with echoes of The Cure and Joy sometimes will come around/ I will although seemingly incidental to the October.

surprise you sometime/ I’ll come

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