The Devil Came on Horseback (2007)

Last updated on: December 25, 2008 at 10:49 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

The Devil Came on Horseback (2007) 2008-12-25T22:49:29-07:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A review by Jeffrey Overstreet

· Directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern

Directors of photography – Jerry Risius, Phil Cox, Tim Hetherington, William Rexer II, Anne Sundberg and John Keith Wasson

Editor – Joey Grossfield

Music – Paul Brill

Producer – Anne Sundberg, Ricki Stern, Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells, Ira Lechner, and Eileen Haag and Cristina Ljungberg

International Film Circuit. 85 minutes. This film is not rated.

We’ve seen a lot of American heroes saunter across the big screen with their shotguns in hand. But if you want to be truly inspired by a real-world hero whose camera is more powerful than any firearm, watch The Devil Came On Horseback.

And then join the struggle, because this clash of good versus evil is still going on, even as you read this.

Accustomed to carrying weapons, former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle felt rather useless, pointing and shooting with his camera while shocking violence played out before his eyes. Steidle patrolled the African country of Sudan in 2006, and he captured essential evidence about what is happening there. It’s genocide, carried out in broad daylight, against men, women, and children, while the world does nothing to stop it.

What Steidle witnessed there – no human being should have to see such horrors. And yet, Steidle is on a mission to wake up the world’s conscience. He wants to startle us into action. So he fills this movie with images that will be hard for you to forget.

We watch as African natives are slaughtered by the Janjaweed barbarians. And we cringe as he learns how the Arab-dominated Sudanese government is funding and supporting these killers. Most of us know that the U.S. has declared the atrocities against the Africans as fitting the textbook definition of genocide. But Steidle makes it clear that this situation will not be resolved by declarations, or protests… or documentaries for that matter.

Exposing evidence no one else could seize, he hopes his vivid photographs will inspire us to rise up and demand action. He wants our government, and others, to reach out and stop this holocaust before it is too late.

His experiences are hard to believe. He shows us the pictures of unbelievable carnage, the aerial views of the villages as they are being looted and burned, and zoom-lens shots of the butchers moving on in their trucks. We are making eye contact with the killers. The truck is bristling with rifles like spines on a porcupine.

For some, the film will seem to focus too much on Steidle’s personal experience. Director Rickie Stern explained to the audience at the City of the Angels Film Festival that Steidle had to be persuaded to become a focus. Stern believed, and rightly so, that the story would be more immediate and affecting if we got to know Steidle. If we travel with him into the territory, and participate in his dawning realization of what was happening, we will share in his intensifying zeal to get involved and to change things.

The images take their toll. After the screening, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. It’s hard to know what to do with a surge of desire to make things right. Send money? Write letters? The answer is… yes.

But the answer has to be more than that.

It must involve prayer.

It must involve educating family, friends, and especially children… so they know how to make a difference over the long term. As Frederick Buechner has written, “If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces.” Steidle takes us into the experience of the Sudanese people. It is a terrible place to be. But Christ dwells in places like this, and to serve him we must follow him.

Film Reviews

Previous Post

December 25, 2008

Distant (2004)

Next Post

December 25, 2008 The Departed (2006)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did the Israelites worship while Moses was on Mount Sinai?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A bronze snake A golden calf The ark A statue of Moses