Heartrending but a far from Perfect film

Rating: 5/10 (18 June 2005)

Like many inhabiting this board I feel a deep sense of shame for my country and the West's abandonment of Rwanda to its fate during the 90's genocide. This film based on a the true story of Paul Russebigina a hotel manager who struggled to survive and save some innocents a la Oskar Schindler.
Although Hotel Rwanda goes some way towards redressing the deliberate ignorance of the West over the genocide in Rwanda it is a far from perfect film. Its main flaw that undermines the film greatly is its sanitization of the dreadful bloodshed, naturally for commercial reasons. This 'chickening out' though counterbalanced at times by the bodies in the street and some mild violence makes the Rwandan Holocaust seem a relatively insignificant event.
Come on! Millions died for God's sake and we are left with a director and a script pussyfooting around the real issues. Instead the film focuses on one man Russebigina and his family.
I must admit the standard of acting in this film was very high with Cheadle and his wife in the film making a heartrending couple, whilst Nick Nolte plays a very believable UN Officer ashamed by the Wests conduct and doing his best whilst being placed in a tactical straight-jacket. It is not the fault of the actors that this film that could have been better then Schindlers List fails to reach those lofty heights and I hope that the next film in the genre of War Crimes (possibly about Bosnia, Iraq or Sierra leone) goes no holds barred and depicts man as he is at times: a terrible animal.