An easily accessible and very valuable history lesson

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2005)

Co-written and directed by: Terry George
Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte, Cara Seymour
First things first; Hotel Rwanda is an excellent film, possibly my favourite of the last twelve months. Terry George's film successfully places an uplifting story of survival in the midst of a real-life disaster, rarely slipping into melodrama. It is content to tell its tale in an understated and unpretentious manner.
The disaster in question is the Rwandan genocide of 1994. In the space of three months, one million people were murdered in Rwanda - and frighteningly enough, not many people around the world seemed to notice. Most of these people were the Rwandan Tutsi's, murdered by the Rwandan Hutu's. The Hutu's described the Tutsi's as "cockroaches", "traitors" and "invaders" who "stole our land".
While all this went on, a Hutu hotel manager, Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) campaigned to save as many Hutu's and Tutsi's as he possibly could. He felt especially close to the Tutsi's, his wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), being one herself. And so his hotel effectively became a camp for refugees. But he knew that it couldn't stay that way forever.
Certain film intellectuals slam these "manipulative" films for making us "feel good about feeling bad", and not teaching us anything new. Others will certainly give Hotel Rwanda a hammering for focusing too much on the survivors and not enough on the victims. I seem to recall some people stating similar things about Schindler's List and The Pianist, two critically-acclaimed historical dramas.
In my opinion, these writers are way off the mark. Detractors must remember that the aim of both Hotel Rwanda and Schindler's List is not to be the definitive film of the Rwandan genocide or the Holocaust, respectively. They are not documentaries either. Rather, they are stories about how one man made a difference during a horrific tragedy. They never let you forget the seriousness of these situations, aiming to show you how you can find hope and optimism in those times - and they both do so brilliantly.
It's questionable, however, how much of an impact such films can have Â– after all, as one character states at one point during the film: "After they see this, people are gonna say 'My God, That's terrible' and then go on eating their dinners". But if film-makers like Terry George and Steven Spielberg believe they can make a difference, then why shouldn't they try? Mainstream audiences should be reminded of events like the Rwandan genocide, and it's to George's credit that he presents the situation in such an effective manner.
A hero such as Paul Rusesabagina did exist, so why deny him the compelling story that he deserves, based on the evidence before us? No two-hour film could possibly do justice to the Rwandan genocide, and George understands that. So rather than constantly bombard us with exploitative, over-the-top footage of people dying, he instead focuses on Paul's story, which is the right thing to do. George doesn't take sides either - the film might be seen by some as a battle between "good" Tutsi's and "bad" Hutu's, but not for one moment is the film as simplistic as that. That we sympathise with the Tutsi "cockroaches" is largely down to the treatment that they are receiving.
I've known that Don Cheadle was a gifted performer for a while, but to anyone who only remembers him from Ocean's Eleven, the strength of this performance may come as a real shock. The film lies almost squarely on his shoulders, and while his role is largely an underplayed one, it does call for him to be emotive numerous times, and he is up to the task. His Oscar nomination was merited, as was Sophie Okonedo's. We find Tatiana both sympathetic and believable despite the fact that she doesn't figure as prominently. Cara Seymour's Red Cross worker also stands out (in fact, she features heavily in two of the most moving scenes in the film). With the exception of Joaquin Phoenix and Nick Nolte, the rest of the cast is largely unknown, but no less effective.
Hotel Rwanda would have been a worthy Oscar winner, and is, without doubt, an easily accessible and very valuable history lesson.
Rating: ***** (out of *****)