The Devil Came on Horseback 2007

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: 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. Read more

Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader: 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. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: A dynamic, shockingly graphic story of the horrors of Darfur. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The persuasive documentary The Devil Came On Horseback contains dozens of photographs that testify to this tragedy, yet the apathy pierces hardest of all. Read more

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: 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. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Too often the movies view the problems of Africa through Western eyes, but Devil turns that weakness to a literal strength, because Steidle could do nothing in his position except take photographs. Read more

Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times: Documentarians Ricki Stein and Annie Sundberg do a good job of explaining, through [interviewee] Steidle, the complex conflicts in the region. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: 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. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: A sickeningly effective call to action that asks how we in the most powerful nation on the planet can, even in the presence of a smoking gun, remain so loath to effect change. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: The failure of world conscience haunts The Devil Came on Horseback. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: But The Devil Came on Horseback has galvanized audiences at film festivals around the world precisely because it presents, in its calm, measured fashion and without much ceremony, pictures that nobody really wants to see. Read more

Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle: An exceptionally powerful film driven by contradictory forces. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The gripping documentary The Devil Came on Horseback traces the change of heart that compelled Steidle to break military discipline in 2005 and offer his secret photographic evidence of Sudan's vicious ethnic cleansing to the New York Times. Read more

Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: On all counts, the co-directors of this persuasive documentary set the right tone. Read more

Mark Holcomb, Time Out: Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Keeps visual dazzle to a minimum, and applies subtle techniques to provide a needed background to current events. Read more

Rob Nelson, Village Voice: Devil ponders the optimism/pessimism = apathy/x equation as honestly and studiously as any doc I've ever seen. Read more