Hotel Rwanda

Terry George delivers a must-see film about the Rwandan conflict of the 1990s.

In 1994, Hutu extremists murdered nearly a million of their Tutsi countrymen in an unbridled campaign of genocide that shockingly went unchecked by the Western powers. Set amongst this background, Hotel Rwanda is the first movie to broach the subject of the conflict and it does so by focussing on Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), manager of the Hotel Des Milles Collines in Kigali.

As the civil war deteriorates, Paul and his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) shelter an increasing number (eventually almost 1,300) moderate Hutus and Tutsis in the four-star Belgian-run hotel, who are being hunted down for slaughter by Hutu extremists with scythes and machetes. As time goes on, the West loses any interest in helping the Tutsis predicament and the UN force, led by Nick Nolte, is powerless to defend them.

The story of Paul and Tatania, who essentially performed an Oscar Schindler-type role, cannot fail to captivate the hearts of audiences in itself and the focus on the hotel makes for a movie about people in the conflict as opposed to the conflict itself. Instead of getting bogged down with images of slaughter and bloodshed, George shows us far more about human nature by making it a drama about a family and the people they take in. Paul serves of a beacon of humanity in a country torn by hatred and its terrifying effects.

On top of the excellent story and direction, the performances by all of those involved cannot be flawed, and the exceptional portrayals of Paul and Tatania well deserved their Oscar nominations for best actor and best supporting actress.

At a couple of points, the movie does seem a little more like a movie than just a recounting of real events, such as the use of storms and fog for dramatic effect. The one thunderstorm I noticed heralded a turning point in the conflict, and the fog is used by George to disguise the fact from Paul that he was driving over corpses rather than bumpy terrain. Perhaps the latter scene was based upon fact, but such scenes can make you momentarily forget that this is history. This is by no means a flaw, as it adds to the impact of what is already a chilling movie by seeing the devastation through one man’s eyes.

While the ending may seem at first glance to be too ‘happy’ considering the candid realism throughout, it takes little time for this to wear off. What this does is tell the story of the genocide by looking at a microcosm, namely Paul and the people that he shelters in the hotel. It is made clear enough throughout the film that, had our attention followed one of a million other people, the ending would not have been happy at all.

Hotel Rwanda is essential viewing: anyone would benefit from seeing this. George wisely avoids going down the path of constant bloodshed, which would have cheapened the movie, and instead evokes strong emotions via the cast’s excellent performances.


Click here to view a trailer of the movie.