A very good film

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2009)

Much has been said about this film, both good and bad, and I want to try and add my measured response to the film.
To cover the basics: this is a movie about the genocide in Rwanda in the early 1990s. The main character shelters hundreds of innocent refuges in a large luxury hotel as chaos breaks out around the city. He uses his extensive political contacts to keep the murdering militias at bay while seeking a way for the refugees to escape.
The movie is gripping and intense from the start to finish. The characters are easy to identify with and well cast. The director does a wonderful job at creating an environment of impending doom and chaos. Most importantly this movie depicts a very important chapter of history and records it for future generations. Much like Schindler's List this is a movie that all should see so that the world never forgets what happened.
As a movie it does have it's flaws however. It drags on a bit too long and as a result some of the tension is lost. Repeatedly throughout the movie it seems like the bad guys are about to be victorious only to be thwarted at the last second (literally, the last second) by the main character. The combination of repeat last second saves gives the movie a strong feel of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and the omnipotence of the main character. It's hard to maintain tension when you've seen the same conflict resolved multiple times in the same manner by a character who seems to be able to deliver anything.
This issue should not keep anyone from seeing this movie however. For the subject matter it's pretty easy to get into, which was one of my main worries coming into the movie. Highly acclaimed for good reason this is a movie that won't do you wrong.