Touching the dark side of humankind...

Rating: 6/10 (16 January 2006)

A powerful subject. Real people. Real events. Seems like a formula for success, right? Well yes, but almost not quite. For those unaware of the 1994 Rwanda genocide or its details, it's an amazing chance to look from the inside out instead of the outside in. Unfortunately, save for a few scenes and the panic in people's faces, we don't really feel the full impact of the slaughter. Over the course of several months, approximately 800,000 men, women, and children were butchered simply because of their fictionalized ethnicity provided by the Belgian colonialists. That's a lot of zeros. And yet, from the movie, it feels as if a few of those zeros are missing.
Still, it does not detract from the seriousness of the subject or the quality of the film. Hotel Rwanda is, by far, one of the better movies out there. The acting is good, despite the fact that I can't stand watching the fellow who plays Romeo Dallaire, the UN general, as he clops about like a plow horse. This film has the ability to open eyes and bring attention to the genocide, which is the most important thing about it. If we are aware of such atrocities, we have the ability to learn from the past and prevent history from repeating itself.
Powerful? Yes. Real? Yes. Good? Definitely.