During the Belgian colonial occupation, the Tutsis were the favorites but now
the Hutus are in power. When the moderate president of Rwanda died in an
airplane crash, the Hutus blamed the Tutsis for the incident. Armed with
machetes, the Hutus militia massacred the Tutsis. As the violence accelerates,
the Europeans and other wealthy people started to flee the country and Hutus
killed as many Tutsis as they could. Even though Rwanda had United Nations
representative Col.Oliver (Nick Nolte), who informed his superiors what is going
on and asked for intervention, his request was totally ignored. None of the
Western countries made any effort to stop the massacre in Rwanda.
Paul took his wife and children to the safety of his Hotel. His wife
convinces him to save the lives of their neighbors and relatives as well. Soon,
more and more people joined their shelter. Paul had to struggle to keep the Hutu
militias at bay with trickery and bribing the Hutu government officials. Within
a period of 3 months, Rwanda's Hutus killed more than a million Tutsis. Paul was
hoping and praying for intervention by the Western Countries to stop the
massacre but it never materialized. But the courageous and compassionate action
of one man 'Paul Rusesabagina', risking his own life as well as the lives of his
loved ones saved more than 1,000 lives of terrified powerless people, during the
1994 massacre in Rwanda.
Director Terry George brilliantly portray an ethically rich film about the
horrible genocide and awful indifference of the Western World towards the
slaughter of the hapless and hopeless men, women and children of Rwanda. Even
though the film mainly focus on Paul and the Colonel, the director should be
commended for taking such a brave project at a critical time as
"Today". He explores racism as well as sentiments alike. He very well
captures the abyss that exists between the rich and the poor as well as the
utter negligence by the Western Countries of the dreadful situation in Rwanda.
Cheadle presents a towering performance as the hotel manager. He rises to the
challenge and demonstrates compassion and courage at a time when his own life is
in danger. He gives the best performance of his career. Sophie Okonedo does
justice to her role. There is a natural chemistry between Cheadle and Okonedo.
Nick Nolte is excellent as the Colonel who is hoping for the impossible. The
rest of the cast is also good.
Movie has a lot of social and intellectual implications. After seeing the
film quite a few unavoidable questions arise. United Nation and it's allies as
well as all the rich, powerful countries in the world knew what is going on in
Rwanda at that time. But no one did any thing. Why?. Could it be because Rwanda
doesn't have any oil? Could it be, the value of lives of Rwandans are nothing
when compared to that of Westerners? Or could it be just racism?. There is no
unified simple answers for these questions.
"Hotel Rwanda" is a great story of a simple man who made a dent in
the history of Rwanda. It a sure candidate for the best film of the year 2004.
It entertains and inspires.
We rate this movie VERY GOOD.
