Great Film

Rating: 10/10 (8 September 2005)

I kept putting off seeing this film because I saw "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire" at the Philadelphia Film Festival and thought that "Hotel Rwanda" would just be more of the same politics/gore and so I didn't want to see it. The relationship between the hotel manager and his wife was utterly wonderful and real. Sophie Okonedo is the best actress of today. She is not pretty for starters; she is even taller than her husband. Have you ever seen an American movie with a star like this? She does not get hysterical and yet she remains warmhearted and passionate. And she is devoted to her family and to her neighbors. And Don Cheadal is the best actor. He has dignity. Dignity and poise have entirely disappeared from English language films. I would love to meet their real life counterparts.