A Great Drama

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2006)

This dramatization of a true story hits a few nerves and deflates the chest with its portrayal of survival and hope amidst murderous insanity.
Paul Rusesabagina (Oscar-worthy Don Cheadle) is the manager of a posh urban hotel catering to foreign tourists, diplomats and Rwandan officials. He, a Hutu, and his Tutsi family enjoy a crisp, comfortable life for his dedication, but it won't last.
Rwanda's ethnic tension roils as rebel Tutsis sit down to peace talks and militant Hutus preach reprisal, rallying against neighbors. Paul lives in denial and clings to his belief that a return to peace and order is inevitable, but his hopes are shattered when the president is assassinated and a radio call to "cut the tall trees" signals bloody abomination.
Rusesabagina must use his wits, connections and resources to save those he can from slaughter while his U.N.-protected hotel quickly becomes a haven for more than 1,000 trapped refugee Tutsis and Hutus labeled traitors. But he will be left to struggle for their fates alone when the order is given for the U.N. to withdraw.
Those unfamiliar with the history of Rwanda's genocide find here in the film smoothly integrated seeds of understanding, from the racist stupidity on which the Hutu/Tutsi ethnic separation was founded to the basics of who-what-how-where-why. The film's treatment is balanced, though it does teeter toward condemnation of the West for its inaction amid bureaucratic tangle. But given the record of history 혰 no intervention and more than a million people slaughtered 혰 it's a fair lean.
Of course, this isn't a mere history lesson. Director Terry George does a superb job of drawing a core narrative from unspeakable tragedy and peopling the story with bold characters to powerful effect. The story of Rusesabagina's desperate heroism is a strand of faint light cutting through the fog of bloodletting and provides a well-centered perspective on all aspects of the travesty. It is an intriguing story, and all characters aligned with it are richly rendered, whether they be refugees, executioners, the politically declawed U.N. Col. Oliver (Nick Nolte) or complicit General Augustin Bizimungo (Fana Mokoena). Cheadle inhabits the role of Paul Rusesabagina terrifically; scenes between Paul and his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) are particularly striking, lending the film much of its emotional heft.
Given the severity of the subject, Hotel Rwanda could have easily been overwhelmingly graphic. Thankfully, George chooses to imply the violence rather than spatter the screen with it. That's not to say the film isn't intense. Scenes of evil's aftermath, murder, mob rage, general savagery and countless near misses 혰 all the more potent for their reality 혰chill, haunt, horrify and churn. Thankfully there are brighter moments of appropriate levity and good outcomes, comforting viewers who would otherwise be swept up from the theater floor as simpering, crumpled-up knots of American guilt.
Much like Schindler's List, George's Hotel Rwanda is an earnestly crafted portrayal of survival in the face of annihilation. Just be prepared for its impact.