Impacting and Heartfelt Reality

Rating: Null/10 (23 February 2005)

Under the security blanket of America, we tend to forget or ignore the destruction that is occurring throughout the world. We may catch a glimpse of the danger present in foreign countries, but we put it off as out of our control. Yet Hotel Rwanda shows the viewer the tragic consequences of inaction in the face of genocide.
The main character of Hotel Rwanda is Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who looks out for his family in Rwanda, and who stands as an innocent bystander in Rwanda's civil war between the Hutu and the Tutsis. The Hutu forces are on the attack, and although Paul is Hutu, he must take a stand to protect the Tutsis being persecuted. His wife, Tatiana, a Tutsi, does not face the situation as calmly as Paul, because she is very protective of her children. These two main performances are extremely impressive and bring a lot of the emotional power of the film as well as to the characters themselves. Supporting cast includes Nick Nolte as Colonel Oliver from the UN and Joaquin Phoenix as a cameraman who catches on film the atrocities of the occurrences outside the ever-crumbling walls of the hotel. Nolte does a very good job in his position of helplessness, but Phoenix puts in a far less-impressive bit role.
The screenplay, written by Keir Pearson and Terry George is very good, and the dialogue shows the strength of a few, the helplessness of many, and the evil of those who started executing innocent people out of their own selfish ambition. The film reminds us, albeit through simple direction, of the destruction of which we as human beings are capable, but it also shows us the power of love for others. Some parts of the film are so hard to watch and so emotional, that one cannot help but remember them vividly. The power of Gregson-Williams' and Guerra's score stands out especially in such scenes.
If only films with such heart could be made without flaw! Although the flaws are outweighed, in my mind, by the film's message and stunning images, they must be mentioned. As I alluded to earlier, the acting of those in smaller roles is below par. Also, there seemed to be a kind of alacrity of direction throughout the film, as if George were attempting to speed through the film. This does not take much from the film's power, but the viewer is left with little time to take in each specific scene in order to understand the movie as a whole. Further, the song played in the credits, "Million Voices," seems poorly hashed together, so that the viewer cannot think to his full potential upon the film in all its intensity.
Ironically enough, the film's strength increases when we see that we too are in a sense responsible for the genocide in Rwanda, because we leave the theater still unwilling to take action to help the helpless. The film is sadly flawed, but incredible in its message and force.
Final Grade: B+.