The Injustice Behind Hotel Rwanda

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2005)

It should be noted that a great injustice was committed in the making of Hotel Rwanda. For the most part the story is true, Don Cheadle's character Paul Rusesabagina was a hero amidst terrible acts.
The injustice lies in the portrayal of Nick Nolte's character, Colonel Oliver. Oliver is a fictitious person, but there is no denying the comparisons to Romeo Dallaire, a Canadian hero and the man in charge of the UN peacekeeping mission. For whatever reason, it was decided that the true story would be altered for the movie. Dallaire, recently voted as the 16th greatest Canadian ever by a CBC poll, was depicted by Nolte's character as ineffective and a drunk. This is far from the truth. Dallaire had limited resources and insufficient personnel to be able to stop the oppression and genocide, but he stood his ground. The world turned its back on what happened in Rwanda. The UN committed such little resources and soldiers to the mission that there was no chance of success. It is true that hundreds of thousands of people were massacred, but this number would have been considerably higher had it not been for Dallaire.
It is unthinkable that such an important man and his actions would be altered in the retelling of this story. A more accurate account of the Rwanda genocide is available. Romeo Dallaire tells the story from his perspective, good and bad, in "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda". Perhaps one day this story could be retold by Hollywood and give Dallaire the proper recognition he deserves.