Saturday, January 9, 2010

011 - The Devil Came on Horseback

Director: Annie Sunberg
Year: 2007

With the Iraq war today sometimes it is easy to forget about other tragedies around the world. After watching this film it will be a little harder to forget about the crisis in Darfur. The film follows former Marine Capt Brian Steidle as he travels to the region to monitor a cease fire. What he finds forever transforms his life.

Steidle is in a unique position as an observer to the African Union where he can talk to Africans affects by the atrocities as well as members of the Janjaweed who reign terror to the Africans in the region. Although a former marine, Brian is not allowed a weapon; only a camera. Throughout the film he takes pictures of the events unfolding around him. Every day he is surrounded by death and can do nothing about it.

Brian constantly complains that the world is not doing enough, and you see this when he comes back home only to be turned away by officials in power. I myself barely even knew where Darfur was located on a map before watching this film so I can agree with him that nothing is being done. We said never again with Rwanda and yet we are saying it again. The film is not the feel good story of the year, but it is worth a watch.

Annie Sunberg's THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK (2007)

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