Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire

Shake Hands With The Devil:The Journey of Romeo Dallaire was a very insightful documentary, which showed Romeo Dallaire’s journey back to Rwanda for the 10th anniversary of the Genocide.  This documentary is very interesting to watch yet alone, although, if you are someone who had previously seen Shake Hands With the Devil you will enjoy watching this film even more. In the documentary you are not only introduced to the real Romeo Dallaire but the audience also gets introduced to Dallaire’s wife, as he brings her along to show her Kigali through his eyes.  

This documentary allows the audience into Dallaire’s past life as being the present commander of the United Nations for the peacekeepings in Rwanda.  While watching Dallaire reveals a lot of information on how he felt during the genocide, number one being the guilt he endured after feeling like he failed his mission.  During this time the audience see’s all of the flashbacks Dallaire is imagining in his head and at this time some of the most disturbing images are revealed, while seeing the Tutsi and Hutu moderates getting beaten to death.  Another very interesting part to this documentary were the number of people that were interviewed alongside with Dallaire, that were also at some point involved with the genocide.  This film leaves a tremendous emotional and depressing toll on several individuals, especially while learning about the toll this played on Dallaire’s life, especially his heath.  

The scene that really shocked me was when Dallaire and his wife walked into a tiny hut where hundreds of skulls were lined up across the table, outlining the numerous amounts of people that were killed in the genocide.  I think this was the scene that made the genocide seem so much more realistic for the viewers who had not heard about it before hand.  

Although this film is hard to watch at times I think everyone should watch it at some point in their life, while it outline a horrific time in history.  I would give it a 7 out of 10 for sure.  

Born On the Fourth Of July

Born on the fourth of July is a great movie which illustrates the effects of the Vietnam war on soldiers.  This movie in particular is about a young “All American boy”  from a small town who enjoyed playing sports, named Ron Kovic. Ever since Kovic was born he dreamed of joining the army and fighting for his country, something that he was very proud and fond of doing.  Although this dream of Kovic’s did not turn out exactly as planned, when he enlisted in the war and was sent to Vietnam he was served to live in horrible conditions, accidentally shot someone and was paralyzed from the waist down from a gunshot wound.    

An element of narrative that I found the most interesting in the film was the acting of Ron Kovic’s character, because he developed so much over the years.  When he returns back from Vietnam to his hometown you see how is character had developed. Turning into being a very depressed and guilty person, who is confused on how to conduct his daily life without being in the war and not having all of his body parts functioning.  Ron’s overall spirit runs out and in the middle of the film he seems like he has nothing else within him, as he makes his life look hopeless and pointless.  

A scene in the film that really caught my attention was the two scenes of the Fourth of July parades.  The first time this scene is shown Ron is a young All American boy who has big dreams for himself, as going to war and fighting for his country.  While seeing this parade Ron pictures himself as being one of the war veterans walking.  The second time this scene is shown Ron is actually in the parade as a veteran who is then paralyzed. Both of these shots show Ron’s character as a before and after shot, which is really quite interesting.  

Overall, I would definitely recommend this film to a lot of people, I would even say that I would watch this movie again.  Although it talks about a serious world issue, this film is quite simple to watch.     

From Hell

From Hell is quite an interesting film which takes place during the Victorian Era in London.  The film itself is about Jack the Ripper and the social issues that were caused from his insanity.  Initially, I did not know a lot about Jack the Ripper .  Although I have to admit this film was able to demonstrate some of the problems that Jack the Ripper caused and was able to give a general background about his character I still don’t think this film was very good.  Very often I was staring at my clock to see how much longer I had to watch this film, meaning it was very boring and even a little creepy and disturbing.   Unless, you are the type of individual who enjoys watching mysterious movies, I would not recommend this film for you.  It was not exactly the most relaxing film I have ever seen!

One of the characters that caught my attention while watching was Johnny Depp who played Inspector Frederick Abberline.  Johnny Depp did a great job capturing the audiences attention and added a lot to the film.  In the movie, his character was a police officer who was sent to investigate the murder scenes which Jack the Ripper caused.  During the film Abberline takes loads of pills because this allows him to dream about the scenes of the murders which then allows him to find answers behind each murder.  

This film was definitely different from anything I have seen before, yet in this case I wouldn’t necessarily say thats a good thing.  At times this film was interesting to watch, but I personally don’t think its for everyone.   

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump

The film Forrest Gump is an excellent movie which takes place during the 1960’s and 70’s and which highlights the US involvement in the Vietnam War.  Forrest in the film is a less intelligent man than others, who travels charmingly and effortlessly through life; having great opportunities while being in the right places at the right time. 

Forrest fights in the Vietnam War, teaches Elvis Presley how to dance, becomes a football star and meets the president of the United States who at the time was John F. Kennedy.  These are only a few of the memorable moments which are thrown into Forrest’s life, although through these times Forrest never forgets the love of his life Jenny. 

Jenny grew up with Forrest and was abused by her father. While growing up Jenny comes in and out of Forrest’s life, while dealing with her own problems with drug abuse.  Forrest Gump is a must see movie, although it is quite old as it came out in theatres in 1994, it is a movie that will capture the audience.  

Watching this film several elements stood out, one of which was Tom Hank's stellar performance as Forrest.  Forrest is a simple-minded man who achieves greatness.  No matter on the situation Forrest was always a good friend and could be relied on.  Throughout Forrest’s childhood he was belittled and bullied, but with the unending support of his mother, he has the Midas Touch.  Tom Hanks is able to carry his performance throughout the film - staying in character consistently. Tom Hanks deservedly won several awards for playing Forrest’s character in the film.

The use of film music was also very effective for this film.  The music included a lot of old classics from the 60’s and 70‘s for example, the songs of the Beatles and Bob Dylan, all very well known artists from that specific time period.  This use of music was able to set the mood for the film, because all of these songs symbolized the events which were taking place during the film.  For example, during the Vietnam War protests, the Beatles were playing in the background. This music was able to symbolize what the nation wanted, peace and love.  

Overall, I would recommend this film to almost anyone over the age of 13.  This would allow the viewers to have some background information about specific events which take place during the movie.  As well, the film included a little bit of violence and substance abuse, which those under the age of 13 should not see.