Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Genre: Drama, Biography
Starring: Don Cheadle, Joaquin Phoenix

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
IMDb: 8.2
On Netflix Streaming: No





Summary:

Hotel Rwanda tackles one of the most horrifically ugly events in recent history, when the Hutu extremists of Rwanda initiated a terrifying campaign of genocide, massacring hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsis (who had been given power by the departed Belgian colonists), while the rest of the world looked on and did nothing. Don Cheadle stars as Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager at the fancy Les Milles Collines hotel in Kigali. Paul is a Hutu, and a very successful businessman who smoothly greases the wheels, making powerful connections in all strata of Rwandan life. His wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo of Aeon Flux), is a Tutsi. She urges Paul to use his influence to help local Tutsis, who are being harassed and beaten with increasing frequency, but Paul will only use the political capital he's built up to help his own family, if and when they need it. Soon enough, the violence escalates, and the Hutus begin their genocide of the Tutsis. European guests and staff at the hotel are flown out of the country, and Paul is left in charge. He finds that his conscience won't allow him to watch as the innocent are slaughtered, and before long, the hotel has become a well-appointed refugee camp. Paul is seen as a traitor by some, putting his life in danger, and the predicament of his "guests" grows more precarious every day, but despite good intentions on the part of a journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) and a UN peacekeeping colonel (Nick Nolte), the rest of the world is not eager to intervene and stop the massacre.

My Thoughts:

I'm not into too many genocide movies, but I will say, Hotel Rwanda managed to make a genocide worth watching. Don Cheadle's character is a very likeable person and it is by far his best performance. You do have to enjoy drama films in some way to like this. The fact that it is a true story makes it even better in my opinion. I also liked that the film was about Africa, since not too many films do today. The movie reminded me a little bit of Lord of War, because of the geography. I would encourage you to at least watch the trailer.