A document for humanity

Rating: 10/10 (19 March 2005)

The madness one sees in this brilliant film is hard to imagine, yet it occurred in Rwanda. Terry George, the director, captures those terrible days in Rwanda in his film "Hotel Rwanda". Mr. George has to be commended for bringing to the screen a detailed account of a country in chaos. Working with Keir Pearson on the screen play, the director presents us with the horrors of what the country lived during the holocaust that befell Rwanda.
At the center of the story is Paul Rusesabagina, a courageous man who witnessed first hand the worst days of the Hutu rebellion and its bloody aftermath. This man alone was able to protect and to save more than a thousand Rwandans that clearly would not be around today, had it not been for his tremendous stand against people that showed no mercy, or wouldn't reason about what they were doing to their fellow citizens.
The performance of Don Cheadle, as Paul Rusesabagina, is worth the price of admission! This wonderful actor projects such an intelligence that it's hard to find in any American film released in 2004. Mr. Cheadle was right to portray this man; it was a role he was born to play. Mr. Cheadle got under the skin of the hotel manager and runs away with the film. It's hard to keep ones eyes from this commanding performance.
The rest of the mostly black cast is excellent. One must single out Sophie Okoneko, who plays Paul's wife with such dignity that she perfectly matches Mr. Cheadle's performance. Nick Nolte is fine as the UN Colonel trying to keep peace in a place gone mad.
Congratulations to Mr. George. With this film he touches us in more ways than we imagined. The unfortunate tragedy could well have been avoided if the international community would have intervened sooner, but obviously, it didn't even try until it was too late.