The Devil Came in On Horseback shows you what other films do not. It shows us genocide. It comes from the lens and reports of Brian Steidle, a former marine captain who left the military to monitor the ‘ceasefire’ for the African Union in Darfur Sudan. For six months he was an ‘independent observer,’ documenting the death, rape and destruction wrought by the Janjaweed, an Arab militia financed and organised by the Sudanese government in what has been a clear and systematic slaughter of the black African citizens. Steidle captured much of this in some incredible photos. These are photos of entire villages on fire, of people burned, children shot. The film uses these photos from a place too dangerous for journalists and uses Steidle’s own voice over account, emails home, reports as well as interviewing refugees, journalists, the chief prosecutor from the international criminal court, even a Janjaweed defector. It’s incredibly powerful. The experience irrevocably altered Steidle who returned to the US and went public and has since tirelessly campaigned for Darfur. There’s an incredibly affecting moment where Steidle is speaking directly to camera, “I did nothing, people were dying and I just watched,” he splutters as the tough marine breaks down. The guilt he feels is palatable, it’s what drives him, the irony of course is that he’s down more for Darfur than any of his elected officials, despite Obahma speaking out at the time. In Steidle the filmmakers have found an incredibly engaging subject, a man who has witnessed hell on earth and felt compelled to act, and ultimately despite the fate of the Sudanese there is some hope in here.
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Bob Baker Fish
