An important film for our time

Rating: Null/10 (24 November 2004)

I attended the United States premier of Hotel Rwanda on November 3rd, 2004 in Philadelphia. I have never written a review for a movie before, but this movie was excellent and I am urging everyone I know that they should see it as well.
I lived in Rwanda in the summer of '04. I have read several books on the history of Rwanda and talked about the '94 genocide with locals in Rwanda and also with Rwandans living in the US. I am by no means an expert on the history or the country, but I do know a fair amount about it, which is part of why I am writing this review.
The movie was an excellent reproduction of what Rwanda is like and it tells the true story of one of the many heroes during that time. While it is a sad movie, it is also a story of hope. The portrayal of the violence was subtle and powerful, but not overly graphic. The movie focuses on the efforts of the manager of an upscale hotel in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda to protect the guests/refugees streaming into his hotel to escape the killing. The writer/directory (who spoke after the premier) said that he made an effort to get a PG13 rating rather than an R rating to ensure that students would be able to see this movie.
It is an important movie to see because it brings to life the hope and triumph in Rwanda. It also shows what the media did not show in '94 and is not showing in Darfur: The suffering of ordinary people who need help from the rest of the world. While governments repeat the phrase 'never again' yet do nothing, it is up to us to ordinary people to learn about these events and do something or make our governments do something about them. Please see this movie-it does not have the budget to launch everywhere and relies on word of mouth to generate enough interest to make it into every city.