Hotel Rwanda
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Movie Reviews of Hotel Rwanda
Movie Review: Horrifying
Summary: 5 Stars
Hotel Rwanda is that rarest of movies - a film that proclaims without preaching. Perhaps Don Cheadle is responsible for the measured pace of the film, but somehow Hotel Rwanda is able to illuminate without melodrama - which is an outstanding accomplishment given the subject.
I strongly disagree with other reviewers on the impact of the film. I was fully prepared to see a hand-wringing "oh why didn't the West do something" portrayal of Euroamerican racism, superimposed upon an African tribal bloodletting. And while the film most properly illustrated the inaction of the West (while noticably leaving out the names "Clinton" and "Albright"), the movie came across more as an accurate portrayal than a partisan fluff piece. Contrast this movie against the maudlin "Salvador" and you'll understand the difference.
Throughout, the acting was supurb, and the nuance was excellent. For example, the film doesn't come out and hit you on the head, but the "emulation of the West" among the affluant Rwandans was quite clearly presented (hula-hoops, no less!). This is a fantastic example of "getting your point across" that the nimrods in Hollywood would do well to emulate.
But all of this aside, the measure of the movie is in its impact, and Hotel Rwanda should stand among the greats in this regard. It would be difficult to see this movie without understanding, at a primal level, the fear and horror of seeing your neighbors lying butchered in their yards, with all the normalcy of suburban life lying in tatters around them. The numbing reality and scope of attempted genocide come through in Hotel Rwanda in a manner that is lacking in such trumpeted peaens as "Schindler's List". The actors, directors, and producers of Hotel Rwanda should be praised for their brutal honesty, restraint, and courage in bringing such a film to life.
But ultimately, the most important thing about this film is that it is based on a true story. Particulary for Westerners, and perhaps particularly for Americans, it is critical to understand the reality that much of the world lives with. The divide betwen the majority of human history and the modern American middle/upper class world is immense. The collapse of Rwandan civilization - the telephone call made from a Hotel-Under-Siege in Africa to a gleaming office in Belgium - these speak to the very thin line between peace and chaos. A line that we would do well to demarcate and do well to defend.
Movie Review: Cheadle's Performance is Flawless
Summary: 5 Stars
Every actor in this film is excellent and delivers a rather understated performances. Perhaps it's because the harrowing and tragic tale is something the real-life people portrayed here have come accustomed to somehow and that is a tragic commentary in of itself. In any event, this film while filled with excellent supporting actors belongs to its lead, Don Cheadle who earned a Best Actor nod for this performance (and should have won hands down).
Cheadle has been building an impressive resume with memorable supporting roles in which he nearly eclipses his leads. He began his career on TV's Picket Fences - Season 1 and remainded on the show for it's entire run and eventually emerged as the star of it. He then went on to cool roles like in Volcano with Tommy Lee Jones and facinating and complex roles such as in Crash (Widescreen Edition), but nothing compares to his quiet, restrained performance in this film that I can only compare his role and delivery of it to Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition) in which both actors have the challenging task of exhibiting what I call "quiet courage" under great calamity and showing their great love and compassion for others without exactly "showing" it. It's all in their subtle gestures, whispered dialogue, and revealing eyes. Both films remind me of that old adage teachers like myself live by, "no cares how much you know until they know how much your care."
I, like other reviewers here, went into this film knowing nothing about the topic. I rented it based upon my respect of Don Cheadle and the positive reviews that surrounded this film when it was released. Again, I knew nothing about the topic of the film itself and was I shocked by the events that unfolded in the film. It is truly a harrowing tale told with great respect and dignity. I found no silly cliches or trite treatment of this compelling and important event in history.
This film is outstanding and it that will move you and stay with you long after the experience of viewing it is over.
Movie Review: Horrifying, depressing and very necessary!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't even know where to begin. This movie was absolutely excellent! I haven't seen "Schindlers List" yet so I can't compare the two but this tale of hatred, evil and heroism is a masterpiece. If it weren't for Jamie Foxx's outstanding performance in "Ray," Don Cheadle's failure to win best actor Oscar would have been a major injustice! Every other performance, particularly by Nick Nolte and Sophie Okonedo is well done as well. It was so powerful and depressing that even though the movie ended on a somewhat positive note, I had to watch a comedy movie immediately afterward just to make sure that I could sleep that night!
For the rare few who don't know, Rwanda is where nearly one million members of the Tutsi tribe were brutally slaughtered by members of the Hutu tribe who referred to the Tutsis as "cockroaches." Cheadle portrays Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu hotel manager who uses his negotiation skills and international contacts (which he painfully learns are limited) to shelter and protect as many Tutsis as he can, including his wife and children. The main focus is on Rusesabagina and his efforts to save lives but the references to the slaughter and carnage on the outside are still more than enough to get a sense of the horrific atrocities taking place and it's still very powerful. During and after the movie, I kept shaking my head wondering how anyone could hate another human being to the point of committing such a thing without any remorse whatsoever. It's so much worse when it not based on anything any particular person did but when it's based on things such as race, color, ethnicity, religion or other incidental things. It's the same question I had about slavery, the Nazi Holocaust, Jim Crow and other well known crimes against humanity when I was a child and still have about the 911 attacks, "ethnic cleansing" in Eastern Europe, the current slaughter in the Sudan (which will equal Rwanda if not checked) and other similar incidents.
This movie will not provide any answers to those questions but it's crucial that it was made. We have to be reminded that this has happened and still happens so that we can hopefully learn from it. Remember, this is a movie and nothing compared to the real life horror of the actual massacre. When my child is old enough, I will make absolutely sure than he watches it and hopefully it will not only teach him a valuable lesson but further inspire him to be his brother's keeper.
Movie Review: Brilliant... Just Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
As a political/histories student that has studied the Rwandan genocide in some detail, let me start by just saying that I was impressed by the relatively historically accurate depictions of the various parties to the genocide(French, Belgian, U.S., U.N., Interahamwe, Tutsi positions) and the chronoglical events that take place during the movie itself. Nick Nolte's portrayal of the U.N. Colonel shackled by bureaucracy and politics (instigated by the Belgians who were among the few willing to join a U.N. mission but had 10 peacekeepers murderered in the initial days of the genocide and others and withdrew support due to domestic public opinion) is strikingly realistic and appears to draw obvious connections to the actions of Romeo Dallaire who held a similar post during the U.N.'s limited mandate in Rwanda as the events began to unfold.
Unlike many contemporary movies which draw upon the label "based on a true story" and feature many embellishments, the movie remains remarkably free from dramatic flourishes or moral sermonising.
As a person , I found it difficult not to be moved by the vivid portrayal of the horrors that became known as among the worst atrocities in human history; 1 million killed in less than 3 months - a faster rate of killing and death than the Holocaust. An indictment of human indifference to the plight of others, the movie stands as a testament to not just the human suffering that continues to draw its historical roots from European colonialism (German and Belgian in this instance) but also to the remarkable stories of survival which emerged subsequent to the killings.
Don Cheadle is unforgettable as the hotel manager who has the genocide brought into his home, work and family and chooses to respond to the plight of others around him (Hutu and Tutsi alike); risking everything to protect the powerless and voiceless. The soundtrack is equally brilliant; incorporating African influences and intermeshing perfectly into the various scenes (Million Voices).
Truly memorable and touching, Hotel Rwanda provides an insight into the traditional and contemporary attitude of the West towards Africans. This is perfectly captured in two particular statements: one by Jack (Joaquin Phoenix) and the other by Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte). It also triumphs the role of the individual; the actions of even one man can help to change the world around him.
Never Again.
Movie Review: Too powerful to be described by mere words
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Kite Runner" may be the best book I have read in recent history, and without a doubt, "Hotel Rwanda" wins the corresponding prize for movies. Unable to believe the senseless violence and slaughter of innocents, my eyes opened wider and wider as the movie progressed, until at some point, the tears could not be held back any longer.
Don Cheadle aces a career making role as Paul Rusesabagina, the quiet, understated hotel manager of a five star hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, who breaks every rule in the management book to protect not only the hotel guests, but refugees from both sides of the genocide that rocked Rwanda in 1994, while the rest of the world looked the other way.
A Hutu by birth and passport stamp, Paul is married to a Tutsi woman (Sophie Okonedo, whose voice changes drastically in octave as the role demands), and by this distinction, his children are also Tutsi, and therefore branded as cockroaches to be exterminated.
Because of his position and well-placed contacts, Rusesabagina is able to cling tenuously to his little safe house, putting up a brave front for the 1200 people he is sheltering from the Hutu tribal forces. When he finds out that the UN peacekeepers cannot help them, and that the rest of the world doesn't want to know about African problems, he resorts to the local language, securing protection by whatever means necessary from the authorities, led by General Bizimungu, who has a weakness for Scottish water of life, foreign currency and self preservation. Being only human, and in a crisis situation, he makes crucial errors in judgment, but by his conviction he manages to hold it all together for as long as necessary.
There are too many powerful scenes to describe, and you have to watch the movie to fully appreciate the horror. There are no gory images as in "Saving Private Ryan" or "Blade", but the Director manages to effectively portray the despair and mass killings without being offensively graphic or crude. One of the most heart rending scenes takes place on a road in the early morning fog, and this is the final straw that rips through Rusesabagina's brittle façade of being in control.
Joaquin Phoenix (you know I have to mention him), in a small role as a cameraman sums it up best when he said "I've never been so ashamed."
This one is a must see.
Amanda Richards, May 23, 2005