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Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Posted By: Someonelse
Date: 29 Jun 2011 12:11:51
Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Hotel Rwanda (2004)
DVD9 (VIDEO_TS) | NTSC 16:9 (720x480) | Covers (2 JPGs) | 02:01:43 | 7,12 Gb
Audio: English (Dolby AC3, 6 ch), Francais (Dolby AC3, 2 ch), English Commentary | Subs: English, French, Spanish
Genre: Biography, Drama, History | Nominated for 3 Oscars + 12 wins | UK, USA, Italy, South Africa

Hotel Rwanda tackles one of the most horrifically ugly events in recent history, when the Hutu extremists of Rwanda initiated a terrifying campaign of genocide, massacring hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsis (who had been given power by the departed Belgian colonists), while the rest of the world looked on and did nothing. Don Cheadle stars as Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager at the fancy Les Milles Collines hotel in Kigali. Paul is a Hutu, and a very successful businessman who smoothly greases the wheels, making powerful connections in all strata of Rwandan life. His wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo of Aeon Flux), is a Tutsi. She urges Paul to use his influence to help local Tutsis, who are being harassed and beaten with increasing frequency, but Paul will only use the political capital he's built up to help his own family, if and when they need it. Soon enough, the violence escalates, and the Hutus begin their genocide of the Tutsis. European guests and staff at the hotel are flown out of the country, and Paul is left in charge. He finds that his conscience won't allow him to watch as the innocent are slaughtered, and before long, the hotel has become a well-appointed refugee camp. Paul is seen as a traitor by some, putting his life in danger, and the predicament of his "guests" grows more precarious every day, but despite good intentions on the part of a journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) and a UN peacekeeping colonel (Nick Nolte), the rest of the world is not eager to intervene and stop the massacre. Hotel Rwanda was directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George (Some Mother's Son), who co-wrote the script with Keir Pearson.

IMDB - Top 250 #121
DVDbeaver
Robert Ebert's Review

Terry George's powerful Hotel Rwanda has more than a passing similarity to Schindler's List. Both films feature a smooth-talking protagonist who gradually develops a powerful conscience, to the point where he will risk his own life to save strangers. Both films also focus on a relatively uplifting and hopeful side story to an overwhelming real-life tragedy. In the end, though, Hotel Rwanda is not about one great man. George conveys the horrific scale and barbarity of the Rwandan massacre with grace and efficiency, while eschewing graphic violence, and showing mainly its results. The redoubtable Don Cheadle delivers a passionate yet nuanced performance. But perhaps the film's greatest strength is that it manages to convey the context, both historical and global, in which these events took place without relying heavily on titles or obvious exposition.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

A simple scene in which Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) explains the origins of the conflict between Hutus and Tutsis to a reporter (Joaquin Phoenix) effectively conveys the situation's roots in colonialism and its contemporary absurdity, heightening the sense of tragedy. Phoenix's reporter has a key line later in the film, when he tells Paul that people will look at the terrible images he's captured on videotape that day, "say, 'Oh, that's horrible,' and then go back to their dinners." Hotel Rwanda is not a perfect drama. It's disappointingly conventional in its use of music, for example, and there is at least one moment of high drama that seems tasteless in contriving suspense. But it's an important film nevertheless that brings this critical juncture in recent history to vibrant life, and boldly implicates its audience in the tragedy it depicts, in an effort to make us examine our own responsibility as citizens of the world.
Josh Ralske, Rovi
Hotel Rwanda (2004)

There can be no denying that Paul Rusesabagina, as played by Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda, is a hero. Some may dismiss the movie's worthiness based on that. I've had many conversations with people who say that heroes are boring characters, that strength isn't as interesting as weakness. They say, give me a protagonist seeking redemption for some past misdeed, or one with a dark side in opposition to their heroics, and that's an interesting character.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

I don't see it that way. It seems sadly cynical to me that someone doing the right thing for the simple reason that it is the right thing to do is not compelling. The way I figure it, a guilty man seeking redemption is a clichй (one who deserves it will never accept it). But a character like Rusesabagina, who could stop at saving himself or his family and never be questioned by anyone but his own conscience, that character has some interesting decisions to make.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

As the movie starts, Paul is a comfortably middle-class floor manager for a resort hotel that caters to European visitors and African dignitaries. Though he is a Hutu, like the majority of Rwandans, his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) is Tutsi - a division created by European colonists that baffles their descendants. Though a peace accord negotiated with the UN's assistance has just been signed, Hutu extremists strike, calling for genocide, and as the streets erupt in violence, first Paul's home (he's the only Hutu his Tutsi neighbors trust) and then his hotel fill with refugees.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Cheadle will be up for awards for this, and he should be. He plays Paul with a rock-solid morality, but also plenty of fear that he'll screw things up - as well as awareness of the consequences. Rusesabagina manages a hotel, so he's used to taking charge of a large staff and scrambling to find what his customers need to make their stay better, but he also comes face to face with the fact that most of a hotel's challenges are transient ones, fires to be put out as they arise. This is persistent, though, and Rusesabagina eventually realizes that he's in over his head and can't see any way out. Cheadle projects that desperation without specifically articulating it, or giving a speech about it. He just makes the audience feel it, adding both suspense and an appreciation for what both he and his country went through.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

The rest of the cast is strong, though it's Cheadle's movie. The script has Sophie Okonedo cowering and crying a lot, but steps up in her scenes with Cheadle. A conversation on the hotel roof, about how Paul used bribery to get her transfered to Kigali after meeting her in the country, provides a needed respite during the nightmare; she can also tell him when he's wrong. Desmond Dube is a likable sidekick; Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Tony Kgoroge are frightening examples of passive and aggressive evil. Nick Nolte perhaps doesn't give his finest performance as a Canadian colonel in the UN's peacekeepers, but he still communicates the frustration of a soldier who sees an evil situation but is not allowed to fight against it. An uncredited Jean Reno is good as the president of the Belgian company which owns the hotel; Fana Mokoena is a general whose corruption is both a threat and a tool for Paul.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Terry George's name is all over the credits for this movie - writer, producer, and director. Much of George's earlier work was in collaboration with Jim Sheridan and concerns itself with the equally senseless conflicts in his native Ireland, so many of the themes may be familiar. He does a good job of keeping the focus solidly on his characters, while at the same time never missing an opportunity to remind the audience that even though Rusesabagina and company are holed up in a luxury hotel, chaos and atrocity are just on the other side of the gate. He manages his nightmares well, not shying away for them but using them sparingly enough that they are still shocking at the end of the movie.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Hotel Rwanda can be tagged as an "important" film; and it is a fitting descriptor. The world in general and Americans in particular did not pay much attention to what was happening in Rwanda, or respond in a timely and effective manner; this film can certainly heighten awareness and inspire people to outrage against similar events. If it has such an effect, it does so because it is dramatic and well-presented. That Paul Rusesabagina is a real person makes him a hero; that George, Cheadle and company present his story so compellingly is what makes Hotel Rwanda a great film.
Jay Seaver, eFilmCritic
Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Terry George, Paul Rusesabagina and Wycelf Jean
- Select Scenes Commentary by Don Cheadle
- "A Message for Peace: Making Hotel Rwanda" Documentary
- "Return to Rwanda" Documentary
- Theatrical Trailers
Hotel Rwanda (2004)

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Hotel Rwanda (2004)

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