A missed opportunity

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2005)

Hotel Rwanda is all right, but it is only all right and certainly does not merit the praise that has been heaped on it. It is true that is it has given a new audience to the terrible atrocities of 1994, but this does not get away from the fact that it is only a slightly above average film. If anything, it should have been easier to make a great film because of the power of the story, but instead of letting the events speak for themselves they end up Hollywood-izing it. The most glaring pandering to the Western audience is the fact that everyone speaks English, which reminded me of the awful portrayals of the German soldiers in all the old war films, where they speak English in a German accent. But this is only the tip of the iceberg and there are plenty of changes with how things really happened. Again, what did happen what so ghastly that there was no need to do this, and there seems a lack of understanding that something can be emotionally powerful without intrusive music that cheaply pulls at the heart strings. And why, oh why, did they not use more of the Rwandan countryside. It's certainly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and the film missed a trick in this respect. The Constant Gardener's cinematography is much better, even though the lush greens of Rwanda would be much more conducive. But despite everything I hate about this film, I still like it. It is exciting in some parts, and with other parts is successful in making you angry about how the West left all these people to be brutally murdered. But it's not in the same league as Shaking Hands With the Devil, a far superior film on the Genocide.