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Critics Consensus: The Devil Came on Horseback is both a strong primer on the complexities of the situation in Darfur and a harrowing first-person doc.
Critic Consensus: The Devil Came on Horseback is both a strong primer on the complexities of the situation in Darfur and a harrowing first-person doc.
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (1) | DVD (1)
Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg chronicle his burgeoning activism in the face of the U.S. government's indifference as the government of Sudan works systematically to eradicate black Africans from the region.
The Devil Came on Horseback is a documentary account of Steidle's ongoing efforts to educate the world about the violence he witnessed as an unarmed military observer for the African Union in 2004.
On all counts, the co-directors of this persuasive documentary set the right tone.
A dynamic, shockingly graphic story of the horrors of Darfur.
With an estimated 400,000 dead since 2003, and 2.5 million Sudanese left homeless in the wake of the genocide, ignoring the story doesn't seem like a humane option.
The Devil Came on Horseback is a documentary about the genocide in that part of Africa, and the film's strength is that it shows us the horror, rather than tells us about it. It's painful to watch.
This documentary stares truth in the face in more ways than one.
To balance the chilling reality of the powerful having their unabated way with the miserably weak, the faces of carefree children mugging into the camera is a welcome balm on the wounds of systemic depravity.
Clumsy filmmaking and political analysis do not detract from the horror of the events the film bears witness too, nor the importance of its message.
The Devil Came On Horseback sets out to shock. The images caught by Steidle's camera will stay with you long after his personal story - given too much time in relation to events - has faded from memory.
Steidle's documentary evidence - shot where no journalist can set foot - makes for grim viewing.
A decent attempt at outling the crises but crucially lacking much depth.
If you already felt the devastation in Darfur was too complex to easily change, this documentary won't help. We follow a former Marine who, by a damning stroke of fate, found himself with the duty to document each case of genocide. Captain Steidle, raised in a strong military family, came in as a former Marine who had seen his share of combat. He's the only American who witnessed, for 6 months, the merciless violence. It has broken him, and in one scene we see him grieving, overwhelmed by his powerlessness to stop, even just once, what he had seen. After we see him testify to us through the media and meet with our leaders, it seems by the film's end that everyone is powerless, and we all just have to watch it.
Super Reviewer
An excellent, well-shot, and cautious documentary which has some truly shocking, and heart-wrenching, moments. It speaks powerfully not only about its own subject, but the conspicuous and utterly horrifying lack of attention it was given, all seen through intensely personal moments. Easy to comprehend, but daunting to fully understand, this documentary has no answers, only emotions and images... and that is what makes it powerful. Like him, we are forced to sit and watch helplessly by the sidelines, and we can easily understand his frustration and pain.
if you want to know more about the situation in darfur this is a great place to start. told by a former marine who volunteered as an unarmed observer in sudan and witnessed all out genocide by the government backed janjaweed militia. it's as if we had the chance to redeem ourselves for rwanda and failed yet again. total respect to brian steidle who fought to get this story out and wake up the world to another ethnic cleansing. this is a horrific and very important film. if you want to see the face of evil, welcome to hell
[font=Century Gothic]"The Devil Came on Horseback" is a powerfully damning documentary about Brian Steidle, a retired U.S. Marine Captain, who in 2004 signed up to monitor the ceasefire of the 20-year civil war in Sudan between the Arab north and the Christian and Animist south. The Arabs have most of the power in the country, while the people of the western Darfur region who are represented by two rebel groups wanted a role in governing their country. Following a rebel attack, the Janjaweed militia aided by the government initiated a genocide in Darfur which was intent on wiping out all the black Africans in the region. Steidle volunteered to monitor the situation armed with only a camera and a notepad. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]The film puts the atrocities in Sudan in focus while also perfectly capturing Steidle's frustration at not being able to help actively. But his photographs which are eventually published do shed light on these atrocities.(His camera accomplishes much more than a gun ever could.) Even then, the world mostly stood by and watched. Also, there is a very keen sense of how Steidle's life, as an accidental activist, has changed since he had been given a mission.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]What is needed in the world today is a change in the priorities of foreign policy away from one of political convenience and profit(Sudan is rich in oil) to one favoring human rights. We are all one people on this planet, and are deeply responsible for each other. In general, the world needs to embrace love instead of fear.[/font]
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