Hotel Rwanda - Questionable Story telling

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2005)

There is no doubt that Hotel Rwanda is a brilliant and uplifting story; showing that what we (South) Africans call Ubuntu; caring for each other and assisting in anyway possible simply because we are all human and it is our fellow humans that make us who we are . I always liked Don Cheadle but his performance in Hotel Rwanda made it clear that he's one of the most underrated actors - The Brother is Brilliant! His performance in the movie is outstanding to say the least. He literally carries the movie on his shoulders. Sophie Okonedo (Cheadle's wife in the movie) gives a great performance. Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix are also brilliant. There some brilliant visual moment in the movie, for instance when the UN trucks are ambushed when trying to transport Tutsi refugees for the time and when the military rescues the trucks the second time the mission is taken. There are brilliant shots and brilliant acting.
However, I have a couple of concerns (to put it mildly) Well, I appreciate that I do not know or understand the reasons for the director and producer's decision to do and use methods that I'm about to question. However, as junior director in SA who hopes to be able to tell African stories to the world at some point, I'm very concerned. Firstly, the story is based in Rwanda however, South Africans make up what appears at least 70% of the cast that has dialogue/lines in the movie. This is of course great for Our industry as Our actors are getting exposure and experience. The problem however, is that they have South African accents when they are supposed to be Rwandan; Fana Mokoena (although his performance was great,) only remembered to have an accent towards the end of the movie - same goes for Desmond Dube! Yes an accent might not be a big deal but language is an important issue; it helps the local audience identify with the characters and gives the characters a sense of originality. Yes, the international audience might not be as aware of the differences between a South African and a Rwandan accent but South Africans and Rwandan's know and I feel that it is not fair to them (Rwandans). I don't understand why they couldn't use Rwandan actors….
There are one too many mistakes that again ruin the sense of originality, such as the use of English; it's used way too much! Yes this was made for an international audience but speaking from a Black South African's point of view whose first language is not English, there are times when you don't use it: when you've just been rescued from death by someone who understands your language, you'll thank them in that language! Especially with relatively old extras - I know for a fact that those in rural areas don't speak English to you if can understand their language they are more concerned about preserving languages that are being taken over by Western languages
What got me annoyed is that there's a scene featuring a red taxi in front of The Hotel and the taxi has a big yellow Alexandra (Johannesburg, SA) Taxi Association sticker on one of the windows - so what, do Rwandans have Alex taxis, we just didn't know about it?! What got me fuming are the names of the children displayed on boards at a refugee camp; Thabo, Buhle, etc. For crying out loud these are South African names! Again, someone from Canada might not know the difference but what does this imply to Rwandan's; that yes, this amazing story will be told but they'll be watered down as much as possible?!
This annoys me because I believe that if one is to tell a story about a people, one has to do it right; in every sense of the word. What is the point of saying one is telling a South African Story then bring a whole American cast and props? I felt that I had to make an effort to convince myself that the story is based in Rwanda when watching the film because there are so many things that suggest otherwise. I guess this is another important sign (as in Amandla) that if we as Africans want our stories told and portrayed as real and true as possible, we have to do it ourselves.
Having stated my concerns, I still say big ups to Terry George and the whole production team for telling this amazing story. And, absolutely Don Rocks!
Asania Nkate Aphane Jozi