HOTEL RWANDA by Terry George
by Andre Soares
Hotel Rwanda (2004) 
Director: Terry George. Screenplay: Keir Pearson and Terry George. Cast: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Desmond Dube
NEVER AGAIN. . . UNTIL THE NEXT TIME
In the second quarter of 1994, while much of the world was gearing up to the World Cup to be held in Los Angeles, one of history’s deadliest wholesale slaughters of human beings was taking place in Central Africa. Following the death of Rwanda’s President Juvenal Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu whose plane was shot down above the Kigali airport on April 6, 1994, the Hutu powers-that-be decided it was time to eliminate the Tutsi minority who were blamed for the crash. What followed in the next three months was an orgy of hackings and shootings throughout the country of 7.6 million people that left more than 800,000 dead: Mostly Tutsis, but also those Hutus who refused to take part in the madness.
The Anglo-Italian-South African production Hotel Rwanda is set at the time of the genocide. The film’s focus, however, is not the free-for-all murders, but the real-life deeds of one Hutu man, Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who saved the lives of 1,200 Tutsis and Hutus who had fled to his Hôtel de Mille Collines (Hotel of a Thousand Hills).
Albeit marred by some Hollywood-inspired melodramatics, a screenplay (by director Terry George and Keir Pearson) that feels at times a tad too didactic, and an absurdly incongruous "happy" ending, Hotel Rwanda is still a powerful cinematic experience. The story itself carries enough emotional potency to propel any number of films, but what truly gives this motion picture its heart and soul is the superb performance by American actor Don Cheadle as the frightened, kind, sly, diplomatic, and recognizably human hotel manager.
Reviewed at the AFI FEST.
Notes:
Paul Rusesabagina currently lives in Belgium with his family.
A recent French official report, extracts of which were published in Le Monde, blamed current Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, for the downing of President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane in 1994. That event was the spark that led to the murder orgy that left between 800,000 and one million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, dead. The Rwanda government, now in the hands of the Tutsis, described the report as "fantasy."
Others believe that Hutu extremists were behind the downing of the Rwandan president’s plane, for they were afraid that Habyarimana was going to sign a peace treaty with the Tutsi rebels. To this day, the identity of the attackers has not been confirmed.
As explained in a BBC report, tensions have long existed between Rwanda’s majority Hutus and minority Tutsis. The animosity between the two very similar ethnic groups — they share the same language and follow the same traditions — was made considerably worse by the Belgian colonists, who ruled over a large section of Central Africa from 1916. (Rwanda achieved independence in 1962.)
The Belgian occupiers instituted "ethnic" identity cards classifying the locals by their ethnicity, and, in a calculated ploy to divide and conquer, gave the Tutsis the best jobs and educational opportunities. The Hutus, of course, resented the preferential treatment given to the Tutsis. An ethnic revolt in 1959 left 20,000 Tutsis dead. Scores of others fled to neighboring countries.
In the early 1990s, with the Rwandan economy in disarray, President Juvenal Habyarimana used the Tutsis as scapegoats, blaming them for aiding Tutsi rebels living abroad.
Following the downing of Habyarimana’s plane (the president of Burundi and several other officials were also killed), the president’s guard began a campaign of retribution. They were abetted by politicians, businessmen, and the military.
In the aftermath of the Tutsi takeover (Hotel Rwanda ends its story there), more than 2 million Hutus fled to neighboring countries.
According to a Reuters report, current Rwanda president Paul Kagame, a Tutsi who led the country’s counter takeover to end the genocide, accused Hotel Rwanda of depicting a "falsehood," adding, "Some of the things actually attributed to this person [Paul Rusesabagina] are not true. Even those that are true do not merit the level of highlight."
"Rwanda should have taught us all something; it’s tragic that it apparently has not." Apr. 13, 2006, New York Times editorial, referring to the genocide taking place in Darfur.
LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
Comments
One Response to “HOTEL RWANDA by Terry George”
Leave a Reply
Note: All comments are moderated. Different views and opinions are welcome, but abusive/bigoted/flaming comments will NOT be approved. Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has NO contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog or any information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
This is sucha great and interesting movie it’s a shame it wasn’t as successful as it should have been, Don Cheadle does a great job.