Hotel Rwanda? Yes; Rwanda genocide? Not Obvious

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2007)

The Rwanda genocide is certainly one of the most atrocious crime in the 1990s. Rivalry between the Hutus and the Tutsis led to the death of over a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a span of three months.
"Hotel Rwanda" is a true story based on this massacre. Unfortunately, I do not feel any pain watching it. The entire film focuses too much on people inside the hotel that the film fails to portray the horror of the massacre. "Hotel Rwanda" spends too much time inside the hotel. It does not show the events outside the hotel and how they connect one another. I notice the hotel but I do not witness Kigali and Rwanda.
I do not demand a feast of bloodshed, shootings, and corpses. However, I would also like to see how the terror moves Paul. I only notice several brief scenes where Paul actually witnesses many corpses and cries. The film needs to present more connections between the genocide and Paul's family.
This film has some shadows of "Schindler's List" but it is nowhere near the calibre of "Schindler's List." When Hutu soldiers started the massacre, I doubt that Paul's hotel can keep getting away from the bloodshed by means of personal relationships and bribes. I cannot believe that this is true.
"Hotel Rwanda" has its positive elements in spite of its weaknesses. I am impressed that they vividly portray the world's negligence. Foreign nations care more about pulling out its citizens than stopping the bloody massacre. This was the case in 1994 and "Hotel Rwanda" makes this point. In another scene, Paul tries to send his family away and determines to stay with others in the hotel. This scene touches me because it deeply illustrates Paul's sentiment and humanity. He is not a selfish individual caring only for him and his family.
"Hotel Rwanda" is not a bad film. Its subject is serious and worth us to reflect. However, it can do a better job portraying how atrocious the genocide was and how Paul and others survived.