"Hotel Rwanda" is not a vacation destination...

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2005)

In fact, just seeing the movie "Hotel Rwanda" will likely be one of the most stressful experiences you will have at the movies this new year. The movie chronicles heroic events that took place in 1994 in the midst of the horrors of attempted genocide. The hero of the movie, and of the actual events, is Paul Rusesabagina, played impressively by Don Cheadle. Paul is a manager at an upscale, Sabena-owned hotel who risks everything to save the lives of more than one thousand Tutsis. This is the group that was being butchered by the Hutu militia. It is estimated that a million or more Tutsis were killed in just a few months' time.
Prior to the outbreak of violence, we find Paul performing his regular duties as hotel manager. He gifts liberally to suppliers and military and others in power in order to guarantee that the hotel will be able to continue to fully serve its guests in the current climate. He also wants to know that he has friends in high places who will protect him and his family if trouble comes.
When the killing starts, Paul quickly learns that those he has cultivated in high places are not as dependable as he hoped. He and his family are in great danger after all. In addition, frightened friends and relatives turn to him for help. He initially resists but then allows them into the hotel while he uses all available resources to bargain with those that would do harm or would allow harm to be done. Soon orphans and others in fear for their lives come to his hotel for safety. Paul fights to save all those under his protection using every device he can imagine.
This obviously sounds like this year's "Schindler's List". However it is a much more difficult film to watch and it has some flaws. Initially, the film lacks sufficient exposition about the reasons for the warfare between the Hutus and Tutsis. There is a bit said about the origin of this class distinction in Rwanda and what it has led to. However, it was not nearly enough to keep us from wondering if we really understand the differences between the good guys and the bad guys. By the end of the movie, you'll probably figure it out, but that's a little late.
No question about the horrors that took place -- but this film forces us to endure cycle after cycle of promised escape that is undone by new violence. It is a bit too repetitive and hard to take. The film certainly does succeed in sharing with us the terrible atrocities that were committed in Rwanda.
See this "Hotel Rwanda" -- but steel yourself for the experience. For its successes and for the many fine performances, I rate it a B+.