Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Rwandan genocide was a bleak, bloody, ruthless and violent page in African history, and Hutu massacring Tutsi and UN Forces also suffering casualties is no small thing to depict. A bad filmmaker would make this into a sweet melodrama with all the clichés and trite ideas. A good director has made this heavy story into a real must see foe everyone who wanna know about what genocide is and how awful vile people may behave. Terry George made a great work here, showing just one page of that tragic book - hotelier Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu, saving hundreds of both Tutsi and Hutu from immediate murder and shame. His actions are shown as actions not of a super hero, but a mere man of flesh and blood, but with guts and valor to withstand the threat, deceive the killers gently, buy the time, do all one can do in such gruesome situation, and thus save those people. Don Cheadle is a highlight of this as a main hero, and his dignity, vigor, skills and power shine all throughout the movie. Nick Nolte as an UN officer is another great stronghold here, brave and level-headed man of duty and word. Even the cameos of such stars as Joaquin Phoenix or Cara Seymour are absolute treat. And then, there are all those vile, brutal Hutu warriors with machete and guns, cold-blooded and intolerant. They are shown so deeply true that they awake sheer terror and shiver. This is a very good movie and deserves all the praise and attention. 10 out of 10

Don Cheadle perhaps did the best job of his acting career. With Joaquin Phonex playing a minor role and Gary Busse playing a supporting actor. Based on a true story, and a great film to watch. It has moments of regularity , combined with terror and a bit of comedy to have a film based on true events directed and acting gave the viewer a real sense of what went Down in Rawanda, during the countries genocide & civil war. If you like films based on real people and real events this movie is a must see.The movie does a great job of portraying a real man in Rawanda who helped both Hutu and Tutsi's alike, often putting his own life on the line for others. A very heroic man, portrayed by Cheadle who did the best acting job of his career! I give it 9 stars! Check it out if you have not seen it! The movie is a must see for those interested in movies inspired by real events and the people's actions during a real event!

I thought it was very interesting to learn about the genocide. I knew very little about the Rwandan Genocide before I watched the movie. I can't believe there was nobody to protect the people in the hotel. Paul was my favorite character because he never gave up on his guests. He loved his family and just wanted to make them safe, but he was also willing to stay behind and help the people who stayed in the hotel. Paul was genuinely my favorite character I've watched in any movie this year. He was very brave and never thought about just saving himself. Moreover, it was crazy to think that nobody in American politics wanted to help. I think they definitely knew what was going on over there. America intervenes in so many conflicts it just doesn't make any sense as to why they wouldn't help. I was curious as to why people in America didn't help, so I decided to do some research. Not only did America abandon the Rwandan people but also other major powers, like France. When the killing in Rwanda intensified the major powers pulled out. The French set up a "humanitarian zone" which is where I guess the people from the hotel ended up in the end of the movie. I guess that was helpful but nobody wanted to go beyond and reach out to pull innocent people into the safe zone. Also, I found an article that said Bill Clinton knew about the mass killing of people in Rwanda but buried the evidence so America wouldn't intervene. The officers who were on the ground in Rwanda used the word Genocide when they described the situation; however, because Bill Clinton had already decided not to intervene the press never got coverage of the killings as a genocide.

Before I watched this film I had heard of the Rwandan genocide a few times. It was explained as a really horrific thing which had mass killings of people, that's why going into this movie I was interested in what I would be shown. The way the movie started gave me the American movie type feel, having a successful man with a family running a hotel and of course the language of the film being in English. As soon as the killing started I couldn't quite see why it did, but it turns out the reason was that one ethnic group disliked the other, that's all. In my opinion, the most horrific scene in this movie was when Paul was driving down the "clear" road and it was really bumpy and foggy out. Then they discovered that the road was full of dead bodies. I like doing the way the movie ended with Paul's family making it out mostly safe, but I would've liked to see where the young went after they got onto the bus.