Hotel Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda is worth a look. The script is very naturalistic and well done, though it tries a bit too hard to be the African version of Schinder's List. Don Cheadle's performance here is incredible and should have won the Oscar instead of Jamie Foxx, who impersonated a man's looks and personality more than his soul. Sophie Okonedo is very good as his wife. Joaquin Phoenix, Jean Reno and Nick Nolte don't add much of anything, but they're boring, not terrible. The film can be a bit corny at times. My main problem with it is how much the violence is downplayed. I understand why they did it but to me, the film would have been far more effective if more of the actual savagery had been shown. That it was not is, I feel, an act of cowardice. If the film had been made in Africa, I am sure the violence would have been there prominently, and Hotel Rwanda would have been more powerful for it. A good film with a great performance.

Hotel Rwanda was certainly worth its Oscar nominations, and after seeing this excellent film, I feel it was unjustly overlooked in the Best Picture category. I haven't seen all the Oscar nominated films for the 77th Academy Awards, however I have seen the statuette winner - Million Dollar Baby, and I have to say that, for me, Hotel Rwanda is a much more accomplished and powerful film. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Eastwood's boxing drama, however this true story about the Rwanda Genocide in 1994 is a superior piece on every level.

The film concentrates on the Rwandan conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus, a war which resulted in the slaughter of half a million Tutsis at the hands of militant Hutus. The film centres around Don Cheadle's character, Hotel Manager Paul Rusesabagina. He runs Rwanda's premier hotel, the Milles Collines, which is a holiday haven for rich white visitors to Rwanda, as well as members of the media, political and military figures. The hotel itself becomes the focal point of the movie as it turns from being a bolthole for the rich, to a full-on refugee camp shielding the Hutus from the Tutsi extremists.

The character of Paul is a family man who has worked hard throughout his life and has curried many a favour from influential figures throughout his career at the hotel, however, when Paul needs to call in these favours, the help is sadly not forthcoming. Paul himself is a Hutu, and so is originally not at threat from the massacre taking place outside the hotel's walls. Life is not so uncomplicated for Paul though, as his wife Tatianna (Sophie Okonedo) is a Tutsi as are his extended family, all of whom become under threat as the conflict escalates into a disturbing war. The genocide occurs in the film because of political unrest, while it seems that peace is about to be installed in Rwanda, a Hutu political leader is murdered, giving the Hutu warmongers the excuse they need to launch their killing spree against the Tutsi people. The murder of the Hutu leader is the trigger point for the chilling violence that the country then witnesses; following the murder, Paul has to helplessly watch the consequences as his friends and neighbours are brutally murdered in the street. It's after this point that we see a different side to Paul as Cheadle jumps effortlessly from the devoted father and husband to networker, negotiator and leader as he tries desperately to save as many innocents as he can through bribery, mind games and organsation. What we see following this are some grim scenes indeed, including devastating violence and a chilling nightfall journey for Cheadle through the streets of Rwanda as the death toll rises throughout the conflict.

Cheadle's performance is excellent, a hero that we can really root for to try and overcome the odds to save those that he loves and many more also. His is not the only superb performance though, as we see his wife portray seemingly every emotion possible with frightening realism. There are also some great supporting cast members as well, especially Nick Nolte as the UN peacekeeper with his hands tied behind his back. Nolte, despite his position and soldiers, is powerless to step in to stop the slaughter as his forces are rendered impotent by the powers that be. This is demonstrated in a powerful scene where Nolte's platoon are ambushed during an evacuation attempt and are forbidden from firing their weapons to see off their attackers, as the man put it himself, the UN are 'peacekeepers, not peacemakers'. Other influential supporting players include Cara Seymour as a Red Cross aid worker, Joaquin Phoenix as a helpless reporter and Jean Reno in a small role as head of the hotel chain that owns the Milles Collines.

This is a film that should be seen by everybody, despite some harrowing scenes, as it successfully brings home the impact of war and violence more than any history book or documentary could ever do. The film is both powerful and moving, but, above all, thought-provoking as you will read the closing credits wondering how the United States and European Union sit back and watch this massacre without stepping in to save the African people who perished in this war. In my opinion, a truly magnificent film and one of the best I have ever seen.