A modern war drama masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (18 January 2005)

I am not one to feel for movie characters as I usually tend to see through the script and skip on through to the next scene of events. Ever rarer do I actually go to the cinema to see a movie.
However I am so glad I saw this one tonight.
Hotel Rwanda is an emotional train ride that for two hours will keep you glued to the screen/seat often with your jaw gaping thinking "oh wow". That is really the most anyone will be able to mutter during the screening as from the get go you are captivated by the cinematography and cast presented in this production.
One element that completely drives this movie into the high echelon of anybody's collection is that it is a true story. There is little artistic twist and even if there was any you really were unable to tell. All of the events occurring on screen are believable and make the viewer feel like you are actually there. Several times I really thought that if I turned my head I would see something on the screen akin to what I was expecting to see and it did happen in the movie right when I glanced back to the screen. It is not predictable, it simply creates the atmosphere that you can bond with what is going on. You are no longer some distant set of eyes starring at a movie reel, you are there. Few movies have ever been able to convey this feeling.
The representation of chaos and serenity is almost painfully beautiful. It is so fake, yet everyone knows it but keeps carrying on. The characters realize that what happens outside the hotel yet they cannot do anything about it. The only thing that stands between them and eternal oblivion is a building and a handful of militarily helpless UN soldiers. The several times we are taken for a ride outside the hotel the other side of the movie is right in your face. Again, there are no dramatic sequences, no extended WW2 type zoom in death shots, just a camera showing you the reality. The reality that is closing in on the people in the hotel. Horrors of a large scale civil war massacre are depicted in a touching manner flowing in nicely with the overall tempo of the movie. Nothing feels out of place or pops out of nowhere to confuse you. The storyline remains simple and linear not burdening you with trying to figure what just happened. There are no complex flashbacks used to basically clue you in. Quite the contrary. The less you know the more you will enjoy this movie. It tells you all you need to know right there, when you need to know it.
The tension that the script creates is incredible. Again this was one of the few movies ever that had me doubting what will the outcome be. You really don't have time to think ahead, it doesn't follow a cookie cutter script made for the masses. It is a movie, yet it is a first person documentary seen from the third person perspective.
The cast itself was an interesting assembly of people you have seen before. Do not be surprised if you exclaim "I've seen this person" playing a somewhat untraditional role. It really works out great. There is a lot of African talent used in this movie so there isn't the crazy hysterical fake emotional trip usually associated with Hollywood. In fact, a lot of the extra cast acts just like you have seen in the shows about world poverty where they would go in a camp and show you what it really is like. A lot of does not feel like a movie so you are really left to enjoy it for what it is and take it as you wish.
Some argue that there is a political message however I find this to be highly speculative. Yes politics are plugged in but that only helps illustrate the sheer exasperation the characters go through. Certainly the message of the film is lose terms is that while the world refused to care, one man decided to do just that. Thought it is not really aimed against anyone in particular. It makes you think, but not in a propaganda like manner.
The story of a man, the struggle of a family, the indifference of the world mixed in with human savagery collide and yet work together to create a drama that stands above the rest. It will be hard to forget this movie as every single person can somehow place themselves in it at some point and think, "yes this can happen to me, to my hometown". The question is, what will you do about it and who will be there for you?