Directed by:
Terry GeorgeCinematography:
Robert FraisseCast:
Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Mothusi Magano, Joaquin Phoenix, Cara Seymour, Jean Reno, David O'Hara, Tony Kgoroge, Fana Mokoena (more)VOD (3)
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Ten years ago, as the country of Rwanda descended into madness, one man made a promise to protect the family he loved--and ended up finding the courage to save over 1200 people. Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in Rwanda, secretly used his position and intelligence to shelter over a thousand refugees during the genocide crisis. While the rest of the world closed its eyes, Paul opened his heart to prove that the human spirit can make us stronger than we’d ever imagine. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
The brilliant performance by Don Cheadle, who by the way had a very-well deserved Oscar nomination, strongly contrasts with the director's lack of enthusiasm for the material and his inability to create sufficient feedback, thus also failing to provide the strong and emotionally rich experience that one would need. The austere formal aspect is not a problem and allows the rawness and authenticity of the setting to stand out, with the greatest emphasis not being so much on the action scenes, but rather on the dialogues. However, I was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the film emotionally affected me significantly only in two scenes. The absence of a big screen, and consequently the lack of sound effects, may have played a part, both the whole project seems too cold to me. So cold that I consider the average rating to be sufficient in this case.
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From an emotional perspective, an almost perfect film based on true events that took place during the infamous genocide in 1993. Excellent script, quality casting, and smart direction. The result is a film that succeeded worldwide and conveyed the brutal events in Central Africa far better than the media. One of the best films in recent years. Overall impression: 100%. However, it is not a film that can convey a good mood; it is a heavy testimony about a country deformed by its poverty and ethnic hatred.
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Hotel Rwanda is one of those films that everyone without exception should watch so they can see the kind of people that live with us in the world, and make up their own minds and learn. From this perspective, this is a truly unique film full of emotion, friendship and human cruelty. In addition, all the woes and horrors are expressed solely through the character of Don Cheadle, who gives a fantastic performance, while blood and violence are not the main theme. But I’m giving it 4*, because the power of the original idea this time a outweighs little bit the final impression.
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“I think if people see this footage they'll say, "Oh my God that's horrible!" ...and then go on eating their dinners. That’s right, I couldn’t put it better than in this quote from the movie. An outstanding picture which, despite the topic, leaves no lasting impression. Which is surprising at the very least.
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A film from the same family as Joffé’s The Killing Fields. Tense, emotional, direct and at the same time not extortive in any way, and a drama with excellent drastic proprieties. We find the same elements on the motif level - for example, we observe the first contact with the real brutality of the genocide in the Tutsi population through the mediating area of the television screen. The feeling of ubiquitous brutality and hopelessness is only intensified by the limited space of the hotel and the occasional predatory intrusions of the surrounding horrors into it. Terry George gives his film rhythm via an alternation of silent conversational positions and incredibly tense sequences that are full of despair and existential worries abraded to the bone. The central character of Don Cheadle, who goes through development from a worried manager whose job is everything to him, to a man who will do anything to maintain his existence and that of his loved ones, is secondary, but it is a significant civilizing element of the wracking passages of one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. Through its passivity, the Western world feels no less hyenic and awkward than in Joffé’s twenty-year-old film. History repeats terrible circles.
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Gallery (61)
Photo © 2004 United Artists
![Hotel Rwanda - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/159/378/159378778_1a498f.jpg)
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