Hotel Rwanda (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Wow .  See review
Disadvantages:	Nothing major

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Hotel Rwanda

I knew this film would blow me away, long before I saw it. Just from the trailers and the reviews I had read at the time of its release, I knew I had to see it. The only question for me was how effective would this film actually be in reflecting what happened.

Story

Imagine switching on the radio to hear nothing but hateful speeches about yourself, your family or even your neighbours, being described as "cockroaches". Imagine hearing calls for people to come together to fight for a cause that is simply to destroy you and anyone like you. Hotel Rwanda recalls how just this happened in 1994, when militants set about to kill all Tutsi people, as though they were pests that needed to be eradicated.

Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) runs a posh four star hotel, called Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines, in Rwanda. He is a businessman and family man, concerned only with making money and keeping good contacts to protect his family. As far as he can see, the UN officials are doing a great job of keeping the peace and will be around to ensure everyone's safety. When he hears the threats on the radio and sees one of his own neighbours being arrested, accused of being a traitor, he is naturally concerned, but remains confident that peace will be restored. He sees no reason to intervene or go out of his way to protect people outside his family. But when he finds himself burdened by numerous Tutsi refugees on the run from the militia his own views are called into question. How far will he go to protect these people, and can he really protect them?

Quite simply, all my expectations were met. I found myself on the brink of tears throughout the film and several times couldn't help but shout out at the telly, as if the actors might hear and do something! I think the film makes for good competition with Blood Diamond, which is the last film that really made me feel this way. This film had far less of violent scenes or people in action, yet still gave a similar level of impact, build more on suspense and fear than carnage.

The story does touch on the controversy of why the international response to this humanitarian crisis was so flimsy. There are comments about how people will see on their tellies what is happening and feel sad, then go on eating their dinners, and the effect of skin colour, nationality and prejudices associated with colour on their views.

Characters/Acting

I don't really recognise Don Cheadle from any previous films, but he certainly seems a familiar face. His acting does not seek to create a hero in any way. I got the impression, instead, that Rusesabagina was a very ordinary person with even a selfish streak and a favour for money. Cheadle does not allow his character to over-philosophise and glides through scenes at the start that address his political views. This somehow makes it mores significant when he finds himself caught up in a battle to save the lives of others outside his own family.

Sophie Okonedo. who plays his wife Tatiana, also seemed in her own way very human, although the relationship between her and Cheadle was quite on the traditional side, perhaps this is how it really was. It is impossible for me to judge how people would realistically behave when faced with this nightmare, in fact it's crazy to think there is a standard way to respond. Her reactions are completely different, more emotional and seemingly less logical. But it is clear that she would really do anything to protect her family and the others around them if she could, and this is reflected well in her frustration as things get worse and they fear that there is little they can do.

Aside from Paul's plight, what really made this film effective was the portrayal of the Hutu Generals, and the performance by Fana Mokoena as General Bizimungu really brought out the unpredictability and sheer lack of empathy that made the whole film so disturbing. I think it is fair that in this sort of film he came across almost without a human side, but we have to understand that he has now been brainwashed beyond seeing the Tutsis as human and is past remorse. He is now a part of the oppressors and killers. There are, however, other characters, who although they are set on hating the Tutsis, seem to do so in a more personal way, which may be because they were badly affected in the previous regime and fail to appreciate how bad things are for the Tutsis now.

Hakeem Kae-Kazim seems to play a sort of double role, as George Rutaganda. When he appears, he is impressive as the supplier of Paul's hotel, but also key member of the militia. But his most powerful part is as a radio voice, which we hear from the beginning of the film. His tone of voice starts out sounding like any ordinary talk-radio voice, yet the words are what really hit me.

_When people ask me, good listeners, why do I hate all the Tutsi, I say, "Read our history." The Tutsi were collaborators for the Belgian colonists, they stole our Hutu land, they whipped us. Now they have come back, these Tutsi rebels. They are cockroaches. They are murderers._

And so he continues. As soon as you start to realise what he is actually saying, his voice becomes more hateful and alarmingly charismatic. You get the impression that this has been an ongoing campaign of hate, because already he is raging, even without raising his voice much. The effect really is incredible, and worryingly you can see how easily people could fall for it. This character plays a really essential role in showing how these things begin.

===Film Qualities===

There are some deeply disturbing scenes, where graphics are purposely kept vague, but you see just enough for what you need to know. Somehow this makes it all the more sinister, I guess perhaps because imagination is more powerful and extensive than just flatly seeing what happens. I think part of the reason for this effect is that it helps us imagine what it must be like for the people inside the hotel.

The soundtrack is deeply dramatic during the most tense parts of the films, but there's also a fair bit of lively African music. I really liked the opening music, which was quite memorable and was a song about Africa.

===Classification===

I start to feel guilty about my own views on classifications when I see films like these, because a lot of the violence in the film is being inflicted against child characters, yet we'd still generally not want kids here to see it, because it may frighten or be a bad influence on them. In this particular film, it actually rather more something about the disturbing nature of its portrayal, because little real violence is shown. For most young viewers, who might want to see this sort of film (I'm guessing mid-teens) this is nothing they could not cope with, and if anything could be a bit of an eye-opener. My only concern is the association of guns and weaponry with power, but then our main character is trying to show just how much can be achieved without so much as a slingshot for defence. Although I am somewhat concerned about how Tutsi rebels come across, I think over all the right message is given in this film, and kids that want to see it therefore would appreciate it for what it is. The rating, which is a 12, therefore seems quite fair to me.

Conclusion

To be honest I wish that everyone would see this film, even if just twice. I was so gripped by it that when it reached the end I immediately went back to the start and started to watch it again. Ok this was partly so I could better understand the bits I hadn't paid full attention to first time (I never get everything first time, by the way) and I only managed the first 20 minutes before being told to put cricket on, but I think I would have watched it through again if I could. I think this is a DVD definitely worth buying.

I found a bit of further information, both about the film and Rwanda on the official website, which is worth checking out:

http://www.unitedartists.com/hotelrwanda/main.html