Hotel Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda This is a powerful film, one that makes you ashamed to be a westerner in some ways, or at least to hate the UN. Briefly, it is the story of the Rwanda genocide in the early 90’s, and one man and his fight to save as many as he can from the genocide.

The acting was rightly praised. Don Cheadle does a great job, and so does Sophie Okonedo, both of whom got Oscar nominations. Nick Nolte and the others are very good as well.

The film feels like you are there. It has well used hand held shots, and generally keeps you close enough to the characters to feel for and with them, and yet still far enough away to allow you to take in the whole of the situation. Much of the film is gut wrenching, and brought tears to my eyes often. The senseless killing, just because the people are from a different tribe, the hate that is felt… amazing.

The film is somewhat violent. It is like the Pianist in that sense. It isn’t particularly gory, but the brutality of what is done shocks you. You don’t see much, but you know what is happening.

It is also shows wonderfully well the importance of treating people well, and currying favor. Rusasabagina can argue, butter up, bribe and anything else to get people to do what he needs them to do. Not in a slick way, but in a desperate way. He knows to ask for little, then to expand, who to call to stop something from happening… and yet he is playing with fire and knows it. The whole film is on a knife edge between life and death, and he is in the middle, hoping, praying and doing everything he can to keep it on the side of life.

I suggest this to everyone, even the young. It is a film that shows the horror of NOT using war to stop violence. It shows man’s inhumanity to man, but also shows that man is capable of great good as well.

Roger Ebert’s Review. His last line goes for me too. I am moved most not when characters are sad, but when they are good.