Based on the true and horrific events that took place back in April, June and July of 1994, Hotel Rwanda does more than just tell the story of bloodshed and genocide in Africa. It also serves as a harsh reminder that caring is not an innate quality or automatic response in humans, and presents an interesting dichotomy: while there are whole nations who will stand by idly while human lives are lost, an individual person is capable of extraordinary things on his or her own.
At the center of the genocide that took place in Rwanda was Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), a successful manager of a hotel who becomes the man in charge of the hotel after his boss flees the country. His boss and many others' reason for fleeing is understandable: the Rwandan President had just been assassinated by Tutsi rebels, and a civil war between the Tutsis and the Hutus -- two different ethnicities co-existing within the Rwandan borders -- has become imminent.
Now's an appropriate time to point out how well this film educates the audience on the political and social climate of Rwanda in 1994 without dishing up an ugly onslaught of exposition. In the beginning of the film, we see Paul go about his day, and the audience picks up not only how nice of a guy and dedicated family man Paul is, but also bits and pieces of the conflict and rising tensions between the Hutus and the Tutsis, what being a Hutu and a Tutsi means, and how that differentiation began in the first place.
There were scientific arguments claiming the differences between the two peoples, genetically speaking, and most of the distinctions appear to have been born out of non-physical attributes. Jack Daglish (Joaquin Phoenix), a cameraman for a small news team staying at the hotel, says to a friend that the two women sitting beside him at the hotel bar, a Tutsi and a Hutu, could have been twins. The differences are unnoticeable, and most Rwandans don't seem to notice or care and consider the categories to be superficial. They become infinitely superficial when, after the President is assassinated, Hutus start taking to the streets to murder every Tutsi in sight.
The Hutus, who appear to be the demographic majority, and make up most if not all the Rwandan army, begin making their way through the streets and rural areas in search of Tutsis. Paul finds himself not only doing everything in his power protecting his family, but also protecting scared cast-out Tutsis at his hotel. Because the Tutsis have nowhere to run, Paul's hotel slowly turns into a virtual refugee camp. Paul's efforts are more than heroic -- a number of times he places himself in front of a gun-wielding Rwandan soldier who appears to want nothing except to kill the Tutsis in Paul's captivity. Paul's only option is to continually bribe the Hutus in power and plead for them to turn a blind eye to those staying at his hotel.
Things go from bad to worse for Paul and his new hotel guests. The Belgian U.N. officers who have been in town to help sign a peace treaty between the two ethnic groups, led by Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte), refuse to intervene. And when foreign military forces come to aid, the only people who are evacuated are the white people, leaving the Rwandans to whatever fate that lay ahead of them. Time and time again, Paul assures his friends and family that help is on the way, that powerful countries like France and England and the United States will see the footage of the massacre and put a stop to it. Those hopes are dashed over and over, and one might think that any Rwandan who lived through that event would have much faith left in humanity.
Hotel Rwanda chooses to show what humans are capable of in even the worst of times, when almost all hope is thrown out the window -- both good and bad. Don Cheadle is as always pretty flawless in his performance, and, with the help of the rest of the awesome cast, carries the audience through nearly every emotion. It's impossible not to sympathize with Paul, but equally as impossible to understand how he, his family and the millions of Rwandans felt after receiving virtually no help in the face of extermination.
It should also be mentioned that you'll thank yourself for buying this in Blu-ray. Hotel Rwanda was filmed in Rwanda among other locations in Africa, and I have yet to see a movie filmed in Africa that didn't look insanely great presented on Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There's an audio commentary for the whole film by director Terry George, and the central character himself, Paul Rusesabagina. Don Cheadle does commentary on selected scenes. There's also a trailer, "A Message for Peace: Making Hotel Rwanda," and "Return to Rwanda," which is video coverage and interviews with Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana during their first visit back to the hotel since the genocide.
"Hotel Rwanda" is on sale April 14, 2011 and is rated PG13. Drama. Directed by Terry George. Written by Keir Pearson, Terry George. Starring Don Cheadle, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte, Sophie Okonedo.
