Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Genre

Drama | History | War

Director

Terry George

Country

UK | Italy | South Africa

Cast

Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Fana Mokoena, Cara Seymour, Jean Reno, Tony Kgoroge, Desmond Dube, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Leleti Khumalo, Antonio Lyons

Storyline

During the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), an ordinary man, summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.

Opinion

To tell a historical event is never easy, figure an event like this one, when in just three months about a million people were brutally murdered. But Terry George succeeded, mainly thank to a stratospheric Don Cheadle. 

Hard to be watched, but necessary to open our eyes, Hotel Rwanda is a poignant, heartfelt tale about a massacre, and a genuine hero.

The film does not sweeten the situation nor makes a saint out of the main character, but simply tells the story that our consciousness and our media have canceled because apparently not interesting enough to be remembered, as well as not important enough to do something back then.

The representation of the fighting is so disturbingly realistic that fills the film with drama and suspense until the very end.

Also, the film has several powerful, and touching scenes, during which holding back tears will be impossible. Just think of when Pat Archer reports the last words of the orphan (Please don't let them kill me, I promise I won't be Tutsi anymore) slain by the Hutus, or when the white people are being evacuated and they are told Rwandan children aren't allowed on the bus, or when they drive over the bodies.

Don Cheadle impressively carries the entire film, delivering a terrific performance as Paul Rusesabagina, the brave man who stood to do the right thing, and did something while the rest of the world looked away.

Quotes

Paul Rusesabagina: I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene.

Jack: Yeah and if no one intervenes, is it still a good thing to show?

Paul Rusesabagina: How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?

Jack: I think if people see this footage they'll say, "oh my God that's horrible," and then go on eating their dinners.