Puts a conflict on the map

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2019)

"Hotel Rwanda" tells the story of a local hotel manager, who becomes a hero when he lets countless refugees, whose lifes are at stake, stay in the hotel in order to save them from persecution during the civil war in Rwanda. At the same time he has to face the destiny of his own little family and learns the hard way that his country is not within the western focus.
In many ways this is a typical Hollywood production and it sure doesn't push barriers in terms of filmmaking. But what it does is putting a conflict on the map that most westerners barely know as a news headline and giving both the victims and their persecutors a face. In times like these it is ongoingly important to be remembered how absurde and horrifying war really is and also what responsibility lies upon every one of us in order to do what is within his posssibilities to do good. The main character here is not an angel, he has his own interests, trades with the worst people and prioritizes. But when he was needed he took action and saved many. It also shows that such people need help and that we as westerners have possibilities to grant it to them but too often don't care enough to do so.
All in all this is a movie with an important message and some very intense scenes, not a gamechanger artistically but a strong film.