A hauntingly powerful and focused film led by Don Cheadle

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2005)

*NOTE: I will point out all points where spoilers occur, so those of you who wish to avoid them can still get a critical opinion of the film from me, but I apparently must mark the review as containing spoilers, so I want to let everyone know that much of the review will still not contain spoilers*
The most noticeably excellent part of "Hotel Rwanda" is the performance of Don Cheadle, who gives a wonderfully subtle and complete performance. Cheadle is able to let us know much about Paul Rusesabagina that would be easy to skip through brilliant small gestures. (*SPOILER* Notice the way he discerningly watches the military men in the hotel before the genocide begins--we see what a calculating, thoughtful man Rusesabagina is before we have much of anything that can tell us anything about him. *SPOILER OVER*) Sophie Okendo, Nick Nolte, and Joaquin Phoenix also give wonderful supporting performances (especially a surprising Nolte), but none is given a significant amount of time to breathe, because the film is about Paul and it is VERY focused.
Many have said that the violence in this film is too little and thus distances us from the genocide, but there are reasons for this. First of all, the film is not really about the genocide--it's about Paul Rusesabagina, and it's focused on him nearly every second. Paul *SPOILER* only sees it when he and Gregoire are out running over bodies *SPOILER OVER*, and thus it cannot keep its focus on him without losing some violence. It also makes a point that the violence is too much for people--*SPOILER* Paul himself, Jack, and Roger are all rendered essentially mute when they see it: Paul has his emotional breakdown immediately after, Jack is silent while setting up his tape, and Roger is reduced to hiding scared silently, not even capable of telling his parents that it's not his blood *SPOILER OVER*. If the violence is too much for people to see, obviously we can't see much of it. It also makes the little pieces of violence we do see that much stronger that they are isolated.
The dialog is very real and yet intelligent and the direction quiet, not trying to force too much on the viewer. The film is also quite heavily without score, lending even more weight and realism to the events depicted. The wonderfully focused script keeps us identifying with and watching Paul throughout the story, keeping him in constant, very real danger. The film even manages to get the story of how the Hutus and Tutsis emerged into it without seeming terribly forced, by bringing in a news team (including Joaquin Phoenix, who is rather quietly building up a very impressive body of work) to cover the events.
All told, "Hotel Rwanda" is a great film depicting a truly remarkable story of a man doing wonderful things in an almost unbelievably terrible situation. The acting is top-notch, the writing is superb, the direction is as good as one can hope for, and the story has a powerful resonance to the point that it makes one think again about what nations' obligations to the people of another nation are. In an excellent year in film (three films that I would rank in probably the top 25 I've ever seen came out in 2004), "Hotel Rwanda" is one of the standouts and definitely the most powerful film to come out in a long time. Don't miss it.