Fantastic Film, I urge you to see this

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2005)

Most of the reviews that you will see about this film will refer to it as this year's Schindlers List, and in many ways it is. But to just apply a label like that to Hotel Rwanda is to do the film an injustice. Whilst both films are similar in plot and inspired by the heroic actions of real men, they should both be viewed as a film on their own terms.
For starters Hotel Rwanda is a much more intimate affair than Schindlers List as it focuses on Paul and his family. Most of the action in this film is confined to one locale, which adds to the feeling of isolation from the outside world. And therein lies the major differences between the 2 films and the events they depict. The holocaust in the 2nd World War was easy for the rest of the world to overlook (I know it sounds terrible but remember at the time there was no internet, no 24 hour news coverage, no CNN, the true enormity of this horrific slaughter only came to light after the event. In Rwanda, the outside world just didn't care, and if the truth is known, we still don't. We live in a world where a news story can be reported instantly, and yet we still choose to ignore the problems of a country like Rwanda. We go to war over fictitious stories of weapons of mass destruction in the guise of a humanitarian mission, but where was our humanity in Rwanda, or in Ghana or in any of the other countries where atrocities such as these happen on a daily basis.
The troubles that plague a place like Rwanda exist in our own countries, our own cities, our own towns, our own neighbourhoods, these are not just problems that are localised to Africa. Racism and intolerance exists everywhere, they are just more extreme in some places. This film highlights the fact that these are real problems happening to real people. It gives faces to the countless statistics that are so easy to ignore, when a person has a name and not just a number it makes it harder to distance ourselves from these atrocities. Yes this film is full of violent and horrific images (although it is never explicit it is mainly implied), yes this film is unbearable tense in places, yes it does make you angry and ashamed that our governments have sat by and done nothing (Nick Nolte's comments about Aficans is one of the most chilling in recent history) But this film is ultimately uplifting, it is full of hope and it reminds us once and again that one man can make a difference.
Yes this is a message movie and it is based on true events, but it is also funny, moving, tense and inspirational. The acting is first rate and you will end up thinking about the implications of what you have seen for days to come. In short it is a substantial cinematic achievement, absolutely stunning.