Hotel
Rwanda (***)
review by Jon
Waterman
During the civil unrest in Rwanda, the Hutu militia began
to take over. To enforce their power on the streets, they started
to kill off the Tutsis, a group that they refer to as cockroaches.
With times growing ever more desperate and the Hutu’s
plans for genocide becoming more of a reality every day, the
Tutsis needed a place to hide. Their refuge came in the form
of an international hotel, which technically sits off of Rwandan
soil. However, they may not last long there, either. Foreign
aid and soldiers are retreating and the UN can’t possibly
hold the Hutu off at their base and at the hotel at the same
time. Will help come in time?
If you want to feel horrible about being American, then boy
do I have the movie for you. These people didn’t get
the manpower that they needed, in part because we didn’t
care enough about the story. If we don’t care about the
story, then it doesn’t get covered on our news and we
don’t start asking our government to help them. Granted
we’re not the only country that retreated or neglected
them, but it’s still amazing that our perception and
attitudes of such situations matter. You can also easily blame
the media and the government for their lack of involvement
as well. What this is all boiling down to is that the film
makes you greatly aware of the fact that while you’re
lounging about at home, flipping through the channels or watching
the news, there are human beings in need hundreds of miles
away. This film puts many faces to the problem.
Two standout faces belong to Don Cheadle (hotel manager Paul
Rusesabagina) and Sophie Okonedo (his wife). This is mostly
because they are the most prominent figures in the film. They
carry the weight on their shoulders, and once again make the
audience feel horrible for not bearing some of the load. I
don’t think the movie could be any more emotional without
making the entire audience suicidal. It’s laid on thick.
These people didn’t get a break from their exponentially
sad, destructive, frightening lives and you don’t get
a break from watching it. The tension is so thick that it’s
nearly unbearable to watch and completely unthinkable to imagine
living through. As a result, “Hotel Rwanda” is
an amazing story well worth telling and well worth sharing.
However, it’s also one that is at times too shaming and
heartbreaking for its own good.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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